' 


THE    OUT   OF    DOOR 
LIBRARY 


THE    VOYAGEUR    TYPE 


THE  OUT  OF  DOOR 
LIBRARY  <*    <*    «*    <* 


ANGLING 


BY 


LEROY  M.  YALE  A.  FOSTER  H1GGINS 

J.  G.  A.  CREIGHTON          ROBERT  GRANT 
A.  R.  MACDONOUGH         ALEXANDER  CARGILL 
CHARLES  FREDERICK  HOLDER 


CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

1897 


COPYRIGHT,  1896,  BY 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS. 


TYPOGRAPHY    BY   C.   J.    PETERS   &   SON. 


PRINTED    BY    BRAUNWORTH,    MUNN   &    BARBER. 


CONTENTS 


PAGE 

Getting  out  the  Fly  Books i 

BY    LEROY   MILTON    YALE,   M.D. 
II 

The  Land  of  the  Winanisbe 27 

BY  LEROY  M.  YALE,  M.D.,  AND  J.  G.  A.  CREIGHTON. 
Ill 

Nepigon  River  Fishing 85 

BY  A.    R.    MACDONOUGH. 
IV 

Striped  Bass  Fishing 123 

BY   A.    FOSTER   HIGGINS. 
V 

The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 161 

BY  CHARLES  FREDERICK  HOLDER. 
VI 

Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 179 

BY   ROBERT  GRANT. 


263767 


Contents 
VII 

PAGE 

American  Game-Fishes 219 

BY  LEROY  MILTON  YALE,  M.D. 
VIII 

I^aak  Walton 261 

BY  ALEXANDER   CARGILL. 
viii 


LIST    OF    ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Getting  out  the  Fly  Books  - 

The  Voyageur  Type Frontispiece 

Headpiece Page  3 

A  Quiet  Spot 1 1 

Tailpiece 23 

The  Land  of  the  Winanisbe  — 

Headpiece          .         .         .         .         .         .         .         •         •         •       27 

Lake  St.  John  — An  Early  Start 29 

Reeling  in 33 

The  Head  of  the  Vache  Caille  Rapid       .         .         .         .         .36 

In  the  Lodge 41 

The  Carcajou  Pool  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         •       51 

The  Point  of  He  Maligne 55 

The  Mouth  of  the  Ouiatchouaniche  River        .         ,         .         -57 
The  End  of  Canoe  Journey      .......       62 

Tadoussac  —  Low  Tide   .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .67 

Foot  of  lie  Maligne  Portage      .         .         .         .         .         .         .71 

Foot  of  Grande  Chute 73 

Tailpiece 82 

Nepigon  River  Fishing  — 

Headpiece 85 

Camp  on  the  Nepigon        ........  89 

Near  Pine  Portage 95 

West  Falls 99 

Centre  Falls 103 

Big  Canoe  Landing          .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .109 

Great  Falls 1 1 1 

Split  Rock  Carry 117 

ix 


List  of  Illuitriitiotts 

Striped  Bass  Fishing  — 

The  Cast Page  123 

The  Horseshoe  at  the  West  Island  Club,  near  Newport,  R.I.  .     127 
"  By  George!  I've  got  him"     .         .         .         .         .         .         .129 

These  loads  of  eager  men  .         .         .         .         .         .         -133 

Good  Water      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .136 

Striped  Bass 140 

The  Fishing-stand  at  Cuttyhunk,  Mass.          ....     143 

Mr.  Davis 's  Stand,  Brenton's  Reej ',  Newport,  R.I.          .         .146 
"  What  does  he  weigh,  Tom?"  .         .         .         .         .         .149 

Fishing-stand  at  Pasque  Island       .         .         .         ,         ,         .152 
Tailpiece  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .  157 

The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass  — 

Hauling  ashore  the  Black  Sea-Bass  .....     163 

"Three  Hundred  and  Forty-two  and  a  Half,  Sir  /"        .         .     169 

Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida  — 

Hotel  at  St.  James  City 179 

The  Reel 183 

The  Cast .185 

Scale  of  Tarpon  (actual- size) 189 

Ready  to  Gaff 193 

He  was  six  feet  long,  and  weighed  one  hundred  and  thirty-two 

pounds       ..........  201 

Hook 205 

Saw  Fish  on  the  Pier  at  St.  James  City 209 

American  Game-Fishes  — 

Headpiece 221 

Brook-Trout 225 

Trout-fishing  —  A  Strike 229 

Pompano  and  Striped  Bass  .......  233 

Gaffing  a  Striped  Bass 237 

Large-mouthed,  or  Oswego,  Black  Bass 241 

A  Striped-Bass  Fishermaris  Stand 245 

Trolling  for  Bluejish 253 

x 


List  of  Illustrations 

l^aak  Walton  — 

Entrance  to  Dovedale,  looking  up  the  Valley    .         .         .  Page  263 
Ancient  Houses  in  Fleet  Street,  including  the  Residence  of 

Izaak  Walton,  1624  .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .     266 

Portrait  of  Izaak  Walton          .......     269 

The  Izaak  Walton  Inn  at  the  Entrance  to  Dovedale       .         .273 
The  Angler's  Song,  -with  the  Original  Music  ,         .         .         .275 

The  Church  at  Dovedale 277 

The  Old  Mill  at  Dovedale 281 

Charles  Cotton,  Walton's  Adopted  Son 285 

Cotton's  Fishing  Cottage,  Beresford  Dale          ....     289 
Fac-simile  of  the  Title-page  of  the  First  Edition       .         .         .     290 

Pike's  Pool,  Beresford  Dale 293 

Reynard 's  Cave.  Dovedale 297 


GETTING  OUT 
THE  FLY  BOOKS 

By  Lerqy  Milton  Yale 


'HEN  spring  seems  btill  afar 
off,  when  nights  are  sharp, 
and  patches  of  snow  lie 
about,  in  spite  of  the  frost 
the  maple  feels  the  sweet 
juices  in  all  its  fibres.  The  same  nameless 
influence  touches  the  angler.  His  blood 
moves;  he  has  no  more  choice  than  the 
budding  tree.  He  must  see  his  fly-books. 
Every  article  of  his  outfit  -  -  creel,  hob- 
nail, or  rod  —  has  its  charm  to  rouse 
memory  or  quicken  imagination  ;  but  in 
the  book  is  hidden  the  subtlest  spell  of 
all.  Move  but  a  fly  from  its  folds,  and  up 
swarm  the  recollections  and  the  dreams 
-recollections  of  a  past  in  which  all 
joy  is  fresh,  all  disappointment  forgotten; 
dreams  of  a  future  filled  "  much  more 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books. 

abundantly.^  Not  dreams  alone.  To  the 
observant  angler,  running  brooks  have  in- 
deed been  books,  and  their  stones  have 
preached  him  sermons,  the  notes  whereof 
lie  in  the  pages  of  these  same  fly-books. 

Said  a  witty  friend  :  "  It  is  extraordi- 
nary with  what  contempt  your  true  angler 
looks  upon  any  method  which  will  really 
catch  fish."  The  wit  pierces  near  the 
heart  of  the  matter.  Any  method  which 
will  only  catch  fish?  Yes.  The  true  an- 
gler is  not  he  whose  pole  is  but  the  weap- 
on of  his  predatory  instinct.  The  love 
of  the  art  must  be  above  the  greed  of 
prey.  With  the  boisterous  fisherman  and 
the  picnicker  with  a  fishing-rod,  we  have 
no  concern.  But  among  actual  sportsman- 
like anglers  the  manifestations  of  the  en- 
joyment of  the  recreation  are  as  various 
as  temperaments.  Each  exaggerates  some 
of  its  pleasures;  but  he  best  realizes  them 
whose  rod  is  a  divining  wand,  who  has  the 
widest  sympathy  with  the  outer  world  — 
whether  it  touch  him  through  his  scien- 
tific insight,  his  artistic  sensibility,  or  that 
nameless  poetic  feeling  which  longs  for  the 
sunshine,  the  wind,  and  the  rain.  We  may 
for  a  moment  envy  him  who  tells  of  great 
game  taken  from  some  far-off  lake,  but  our 
hearts  go  out  to  him  who  bids  us  share  his 


Getting  Out  the  }•'!)>  Books 

little  brook  "when   the  Sanguinaria  is  in 
bloom." 

It  is  curious  to  observe  how  surely  this 
note  of  sympathy  with  nature  was  struck 
four  hundred  years  ago,  by  Dame  Juliana 
Berners,  and  how  it  reappears  as  a  leading 
motive  in  the  best  of  angling-books  all 
the  way  down  to  our  day,  whether  Wal- 
ton discourses  to  his  scholar  or  Norris  is 
"fly-fishing  alone."  Curious,  too,  is  the 
vein  of  moralizing  which  runs  through  the 
elder  English  writers  on  angling,  whether 
from  the  fashion  of  the  time  or  from  direct 
imitation  of  Dame  Juliana,  their  model  in 
so  many  things  else.  Although  criticism 
denies  the  authorship  of  "The  Treatyse  of 
Fysshynge  wyth  an  Angle"  to  the  Dame, 
one  cannot  doubt  as  he  reads  it,  that  it  is 
the  work  of  some  ecclesiastic,  who,  nat- 
urally, would  give  first  place  to  the  only 
field  sport  permissible  in  those  days  to  the 
cloth.  It  was  almost  an  inspired  foresight 
which  placed  the  work  in  such  connection 
that  it  would  be  read  only  by  "gentyll  and 
noble  men,"  and  kept  out  of  "the  hondys 
of  eche  ydle  persone  whyche  wolde  desire 
it  yf  it  were  enpryntyd  allone  by  itself 
.  .  .  to  the  entent  that  the  forsayd  ydle 
persones  whyche  sholde  haue  but  lytyll 
mesure  in  the  sayd  dysporte  of  fysshyng 


Getting  Ottt  the  Fly  Books 

sholde  not  by  this  meane  utterly  dystroye 
it."  The  words  in  which  the  duties  of  an 
angler  are  expressed  are  as  serious  as,  in  our 
day,  are  deemed  suitable  to  a  marriage  ser- 
vice or  the  installation  of  a  pastor.  Would 
that  they  all,  from  "  I  charge  and  requyre 
you  in  the  name  of  alle  noble  men"  to  the 
closing  benediction,  "And  all  those  that 
done  after  this  rule  shall  haue  the  bless- 
ynge  of  god  and  saynt  Petyr,  whyche  he 
theym  graunte  that  wyth  his  precyous 
blood  vs  boughte,"  were  burnt  with  the 
"plumers  wire"  into  the  memory  of  every 
greedy  and  ill-mannered  angler. 

An  evidence  of  the  solace  that  is  found 
in  angling  is  the  fact  that  out  of  the 
troublous  times  of  King  and  Parliament 
have  come  down  to  us  at  least  three 
works  on  the  art.  Walton,  who  mourned 
his  "  monarch  slain,"  Venables,  whose 
disastrous  West  India  campaign  brought 
him  to  disgrace  and  the  Tower,  and  the 
Cromwellian  trooper,  Richard  Franck, 
wandering  abroad,  all  consoled  themselves 
with  the  rod  and  writing  of  its  joys.  Per- 
haps the  chastening  of  sorrow  joined  with 
the  gentle  art  to  sweeten  that  charming 
letter  which  the  Royalist  Walton  prefixed 
to  the  book  of  the  Roundhead  Venables. 
Charming  books  both  have  written  ;  and 


Getting  Out  the  F/y  Books 

one  wishes  that  the  same  could  be  said  of 
Franck,  for  he  was  a  better  naturalist  and 
"all-round"  fisherman  than  either  of  them. 
But  whatever  may  have  been  in  his  con- 
troversial heart,  there  is  little  of  "  sweet- 
ness and  light "  in  his  style. 

Now  to  the  fly-books.  There  is  no  rea- 
son why  the  fly-fisher  should  contemn  his 
brother  of  the  bait-rod.  Often  quite  the 
reverse,  if  real  angling  skill  be  laid  in  the 
balance.  The  angler's  circle  is  quite  wide 
enough  for  every  one  who  fishes  in  the 
true  spirit,  whether  he  casts  his  fly  over 
the  costliest  of  salmon  pools,  or  anchors  his 
punt  across  the  head  of  a  gudgeon  swim. 
But  there  is  room,  also,  for  a  proper  regret 
that  he  who  uses  bait  alone  has  never  had 
opened  to  him  all  the  delights  of  his  pas- 
time. Many  places  cannot  be  really  fished 
with  a  fly.  It  is  a  legitimate  matter  of 
choice  to  decline  to  fish  such  places ;  but 
let  the  refusal  be  really  from  love  of  sport, 
and  not  from  priggish  affectation.  There 
is  good  ground  for  Francis's  hint  that 
the  degree  of  Master  in  Angling  should 
be  given  only  to  a  proficient  in  all  its 
branches. 

The  advantages  of  the  fly  are  obvious 
enough.  It  is  always  ready;  bait  must  be 
procured  for  each  occasion.  "  I  wish," 

7 


Getting  Out  tJte  Fly  Books 


said  a  lady  one  day,  "  that  you  would  teach 
my  husband  to  use  the  fly,  for  I  observe 
that  when  you  desire  to  go  a-fishing,  you 
go ;  but  he  raises  the  whole  village  for  four 
days  to  collect  his  baits."  Besides,  it  is  a 
gratification  to  avoid  giving  pain,  even  if 
slight,  to  living  bait.  A  still  greater  prac- 
tical advantage  is  that  the  fly  does  not  mor- 
tally wound  any  fish,  and  such  as  (by  reason 
of  size  or  for  any  other  cause)  are  not 
wanted  for  the  basket  may  be  returned  to 
the  water  unharmed.  Unharmed?  Prob- 
ably entirely  so.  In  bait-fishing  many  an 
undesired  fish  is  basketed  because  wounds 
of  its  gills  or  gullet  make  its  survival  im- 
probable if  it  were  returned  to  the  water. 
But  a  fly  is  not  swallowed  unless  a  bait  has 
been  added  to  it.  It  goes  no  farther  than 
the  mouth,  and  —  by  trout  at  least  —  is 
instantly  recognized  as  a  deception ;  and  if 
it  has  not  been  fastened  at  the  moment  of 
seizure,  is  immediately  rejected.  That  the 
presence  of  a  hook  in  the  mouth  of  preda- 
tory fish  causes  little,  if  any  pain,  becomes 
more  probable  the  more  their  behavior  is 
watched.  Their  mouths  being  their  only 
prehensile  apparatus,  we  should  expect 
these  parts  to  be  but  slightly  sensitive  to 
pain ;  and  such  seems,  from  observation, 
to  be  really  the  case.  Such  fish  often  seize 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

and  swallow  others  so  protected  with 
spines  that  the  angler  handles  them  with 
great  caution.  Most  anglers  of  experience 
have  seen  a  fish  take  a  fly  repeatedly,  or 
take  a  second  while  still  struggling  to  be 
free  of  the  first ;  so  that  it  was,  perhaps, 
landed  by  two  anglers  at  once.  I  have 
knowledge  of  a  bluefish  taking  off  three 
large  hooks,  baited  for  striped  bass,  and 
coming  to  gaff  on  a  fourth,  when  all  four 
were  recovered  from  its  mouth.  For  ex- 
periment's sake,  the  writer  once  caught, 
unhooked,  and  returned  to  the  water,  the 
same  trout,  four  times  within  a  few  min- 
utes (it  being  plainly  visible  all  the  time), 
and  finally  drove  it  out  of  the  pool  with  a 
stick,  lest  it  should  swallow  the  bait  and 
be  destroyed,  if  it  were  allowed  another 
opportunity.  It  may  be  said  that  in  these 
two  instances  hunger  overcame  the  fear  of 
pain.  But  what  shall  be  said  of  another 
experience  of  the  writer,  when,  after  play- 
ing a  grilse  for  some  minutes,  and  losing 
him,  another  cast  brought  to  the  fly  a  fish 
which  proved  to  be  the  same  one.  The 
fly  was  fast  in  his  lower  jaw,  while  in  his 
upper  jaw  a  fresh  and  bleeding  tear,  half 
an  inch  in  length,  showed  whence  it  had 
just  broken  away. 

To    the    negative    advantage    of    pain 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 


avoided  we  may  add  the  positive  one  that 
fly-fishing  is,  for  many  reasons,  the  most 
interesting  form  of  angling.  Fish  take 
the  artificial  fly  best  when  feeding  upon 
the  natural  insects,  which  diet  (as  has  been 
shown  experimentally,  for  trout,  at  least) 
gives  weight  and  strength  more  rapidly 
than  any  other.  They  are  then  more  in- 
clined to  "  sport,'  '  they  fight  harder,  and, 
it  may  be  added,  are  more  valued  for  the 
table.  The  gratification  is  enhanced  by 
the  greater  delicacy  of  tackle  made  pos- 
sible by  the  flexibility  and  elasticity  of 
the  rod  necessary  to  fly-casting;  and  it  is 
certainly  a  greater  pleasure  to  outwit  the 
game  by  a  clever  imitation  of  a  fly  than 
by  an  actual  gross  lump  of  food.  But  the 
essential  charm,  we  think,  lies  beyond  the 
mere  use  of  a  fly;  for  trolling  a  fly  is 
scarcely  less  lethargic  than  any  other  troll- 
ing, while  minnow-casting  is  nearly  as 
delightful  as  fly-casting.  The  gentle  but 
continuous  activity  of  fly-fishing  gives  it 
interest;  the  endeavor  to  put  the  fly  accu- 
rately and  delicately  just  where  the  angler 
would  have  it,  makes  it  as  absorbing  as 
any  trial  of  marksmanship.  The  fascinat- 
ing suspense  of  waiting  for  the  rising  fish  ! 
(There  is  one  under  the  azalea  bush!) 
Out  goes  the  fly  toward  the  marked  spot. 


10 


Getting:  Out  the  Fly  Books 


A   Quiet  Spot 


Getting  Out  t/u"  Fly  Books 

(A  yard  more,  and  gently,  or  it  is  hung 
up.)  The  breathless  seconds  as  it  sweeps 
down  over  it,  the  restraint  of  the  space  of 
a  heart's  beat  before  the  turn  of  the  wrist, 
and  then  the  struggle.  These  are  the 
charms  of  fly-fishing  the  bait-fisher  cannot 
share. 

There  must  always  be  differences  of 
taste  as  to  what  kind  of  fly-fishing  is  the 
highest  branch  of  the  art.  In  England 
and  America  trout-fishing  has  generally 
been  put  into  the  first  place.  Certainly 
nowhere  can  the  skilful  angler  more  fully 
bring  into  play  all  his  resources.  The 
game  is  small  compared  to  a  salmon,  for 
instance;  but  the  trout  of  much-fished 
waters  becomes  possessed  of  a  knowledge, 
a  cunning,  and  a  wariness  which  are  wor- 
thy of  all  respect,  and  the  overcoming  of 
which  adds  a  mental  exercise  to  the  many 
other  charms  of  this  variety  of  angling. 
On  asking  an  experienced  friend  which 
he  thought  the  more  enjoyable,  salmon- 
or  trout-fishing,  I  got  the  answer,  "They 
cannot  be  compared.  Trout-fishing  is 
like  a  symphony  —  all  is  harmony.  One 
can  enjoy  the  sky,  the  air,  the  trees,  the 
water,  the  tackle,  and  the  fish;  but  when 
one  is  fast  to  a  salmon,  it  is  'circus'  all 
the  time."  This  answer  touches  the  essen- 

13 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

tial  difference;  the  gentle  exercise  typical 
of  angling  is  replaced  by  a  more  laborious 
occupation,  and  the  calm  enjoyment  by  a 
struggle.  To  me  at  least,  no  such  strug- 
gle has  left  such  charming  memories  as 
have  some  hours  of  trout-fishing  (what 
pictures  they  are!)  when  the  capture  was 
of  so  little  moment  that  only  the  choicest 
fish  went  into  the  creel.  The  expression 
"Salmon-fishing  spoils  one  for  everything 
else"  has  often  a  truth  beyond  the  speak- 
er's intent.  Any  fishing  which  makes  the 
capture  of  the  fish,  or  of  any  particular 
fish,  important,  is  so  far  "spoiled"  as  a 
recreation.  Besides,  the  planning  and  the 
commercial  details  essential  to  securing 
salmon-fishing  go  far  to  remove  it  from 
the  domain  of  sport  to  that  of  business. 

Here,  side  by  side,  lie  the  book  of 
salmon  flies  and  a  box  of  tiny  duns  and 
spinners  for  dry-fly  fishing.  In  themselves 
they  embody  the  contention  of  theories: 
up-stream  or  down-stream  fishing,  close 
imitation  or  "colorology,"  sunk-fly,  or 
dry-fly.  Warm  discussion,  earnest  dis- 
putes, hot  words,  almost  (strange  accom- 
paniments of  the  "gentle  art"),  have  been 
stirred  up  by  them,  and  all  needlessly. 
The  dissension  is  more  about  names  than 
facts.  Under  the  one  title  of  fly-fishing 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

have  been  confused  fly-fishing  proper  and 
what,  for  the  sake  of  a  name,  I  have  called 
feather-baiting.  In  both,  the  lure  is  simi- 
lar as  to  materials  and  structure;  but  the 
latter  method  in  its  principles  and  prac- 
tice resembles  fly-fishing  proper  no  more 
than  it  does  minnow-casting.  In  fact, 
the  "fly-minnow,"  or  "Alexandra,"  would 
serve  very  well  as  a  type  of  this  style  of 
fishing.  Between  the  two  styles  are  many 
intermediate  shades,  but  typical  examples 
only  are  taken  for  illustration. 

By  fly-fishing  proper  I  mean  the  method 
of  the  purist  as  practised,  let  us  say,  upon  a 
Hampshire  chalk-stream,  with  water  clear 
and  fine.  As  nearly  as  painstaking  search 
for  materials  and  exactness  in  tying  can 
avail,  his  flies  are  reproductions  in  size, 
shape,  and  color  of  the  actual  insects  usu- 
ally found  upon  the  stream  to  be  fished. 
They  are  indeed  marvels  of  delicate  imita- 
tion. Upon  the  finest  of  casting  lines  he 
places  usually  but  one  fly,  in  order  that  it 
may  float  down  stream  in  the  most  natu- 
ral manner  possible.  Nor  will  he  indulge 
in  any  aimless  casting,  any  "  chuck-and- 
chance-it "  work,  as  he  would  style  it. 
Patiently  he  awaits  the  rising  of  a  feeding 
fish,  marks  its  place  as  accurately  as  he 
can,  gets  well  below,  and  casts  his  fly,  still 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 


dry,  as  lightly  as  he  is  ahle,  above  the 
point  marked,  and  allows  it  to  float  with- 
out tug-  or  strain  jauntily  down  stream 
until  it  passes  over  the  fish.  If  it  is  not 
taken,  it  is  dried  by  a  few  casts  in  the  air, 
and  again  put  over  the  fish.  If  it  is  taken, 
there  can  be  little  doubt,  not  only  from 
theory,  but  from  comparative  experiments, 
that  it  is  taken  for  the  natural  fly  of  which 
it  is  the  avowed  counterfeit.  This  is,  I 
think,  fly-fishing  in  the  strict  sense  of  the 
term.  In  such  streams,  with  fish  made 
wary  by  long  experience,  to  use  coarse 
flies,  to  cast  carelessly,  or  even  to  fish  down 
stream,  would  probably  put  every  neigh- 
boring fish  off  its  feed,  or  drive  it  to  the 
shelter  of  its  hold.  In  our  wilder  waters, 
such  nicety  is  not  yet  necessary,  and  may 
even  be  less  successful  than  less  exacting 
methods.  But  where  it  is  applicable,  the 
writer  can  testify  that  it  adds  to  the  other 
pleasures  of  fly-fishing  the  charm  that  al- 
ways attends  delicacy  of  manipulation  and 
certainty  of  aim. 

Note  the  differences  between  this  kind 
of  fly-fishing  and  the  "feather-baiting." 
Take  a  salmon-fly,  for  instance.  It  is  a 
combination  in  a  conventional  shape  of 
colors  —  the  result  of  experience  or  exper- 
iment—  which  resembles  nothing  that 

16 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

the  maker  ever  saw  in  nature;  and  if,  as 
some  maintain,  it  is  taken  by  the  salmon 
because  it  has  seen  something  like  it,  that 
something  was  certainly  not  a  natural  fly. 
The  salmon-fly  is  usually  cast  —  as  accu- 
rately and  delicately  as  may  be,  of  course 
—  across  the  current,  and  swings  in  a 
curve  down  to  the  fish,  half  or  wholly 
submerged.  Coming  in  such  a  manner, 
it  may  possibly  be  taken  for  a  larva,  hardly 
for  a  fly,  whatever  be  its  color.  What  is 
true  of  the  salmon-fly  is  at  least  equally 
true  of  all  large  flies  which  are  intended  to 
be  worked  "sink  and  draw."  While  this 
method  cannot  in  strictness  be  considered 
fly-fishing,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  its 
success.  Trout  are  often  so  wild  as  to  have 
no  suspicion  of  guile,  when  they  will  seize 
any  object  which  attracts  their  attention. 
If  the  water  is  big,  turbulent,  or  turbid, 
only  a  large  and  showy  lure  will  be  visible. 
There  were  some  pools  in  the  Nepigon  in 
its  less  frequented  days,  where  the  best 
success  attended,  not  salmon-flies  even,  but 
bass-flies  of  extraordinary  gaudiness,  and 
of  a  size  to  merit  Foster's  name  of  "the 
American  half-ounce."  What  they  took 
the  fly  for,  if  for  anything  in  particular, 
may  be  a  matter  of  doubt;  probably  sim- 
ply as  a  prey  which  might  furnish  food. 
17 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

More  recently,  an  acquaintance  has  told 
me,  that  in  a  season  of  low  water,  when 
disappointment  had  been  universal,  he  had 
good  success  in  this  river  with  the  use  of 
midge-flies  and  light  casts. 

This  question,  why  the  fly  of  the  salmon- 
fly  type  is  taken,  has  been  much  discussed 
in  connection  with  salmon-fishing.  For- 
merly, the  belief  that  salmon  never  fed 
while  in  fresh  water  complicated  the  in- 
quiry. The  contrary  being  now  well  es- 
tablished, it  is  altogether  probable  that  the 
fly  is  seized  for  examination  as  possible 
food.  There  is  a  curious  difference  be- 
tween the  ordinary  behavior  of  a  trout  and 
a  salmon.  As  a  rule,  a  trout  which  takes 
a  small  fly,  apparently  in  mistake  for  a  liv- 
ing insect,  rejects  it  almost  instantly,  if  it 
can.  The  salmon,  on  the  contrary,  usu- 
ally starts  for  his  hold  with  the  fly  in  his 
mouth,  to  examine  it  there,  possibly  be- 
cause of  a  habit  acquired  while  feeding 
upon  Crustacea  in  the  sea.  Whether  a 
fresh-run  fish  takes  a  fly,  or  any  given  fly, 
on  account  of  its  resemblance  in  the  water 
to  some  kind  of  food  known  at  sea,  is  one 
of  the  open  questions.  But  after  the  fish 
have  been  some  time  in  fished  water,  they 
become  usually  much  more  wary.  It  is 
interesting  to  watch  their  behavior,  which 

18 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

seems  sometimes  to  be  the  result  of  simple 
curiosity  or  possibly,  of  a  halting  between 
hunger  and  a  timidity  born  of  experience. 
For  instance,  casting  over  a  pool  in  which 
the  fish  were  easily  seen,  I  have  had  a  pair 
lying  near  each  other  rise  cautiously,  to 
inspect  each  new  fly  ;  rarely  would  they 
come  twice  to  the  same  one.  The  keen- 
eyed  gaffer,  in  his  wrath,  as  they  circled 
around  each  and  retired,  exclaimed,  "  Con- 
found them!  They  don't  mean  to  take 
it ;  they  start  from  the  bottom  with  their 
mouths  shut."  After  a  fish  has  run  the 
gantlet  of  a  score  or  two  of  pools  it  be- 
comes very  knowing,  and  few  flies  will 
move  it.  I  recall  a  success  with  a  fly  tied 
with  the  avowed  purpose  of  presenting  an 
outre  combination  which  would  certainly 
be  unfamiliar.  It  is  hard,  as  has  been  said, 
to  be  sure  whether,  in  such  cases,  it  be 
curiosity  or  chastened  greed  that  excites 
the  fish.  In  some  cases  it  must  certainly 
be  the  latter.  For  instance,  for  a  week 
the  many  and  tantalizingly  visible  occu- 
pants of  the  "Hospital"  pool  —  ill-omened 
name  —  resisted  all  the  blandishments  of 
my  friend  and  myself,  when,  one  evening, 
unexpectedly,  they  began  rising  very  cau- 
tiously, following  the  fly  as  it  went  down 
stream,  and  only  touching  it  as  it  was  be- 

19 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

ing  drawn  up  for  the  back  cast,  as  if  the 
evidence  of  its  departure  excited  them  ir- 
resistibly to  embrace  a  last  chance.  But 
whatever  this  motive  be,  it  probably  ac- 
counts for  multitudes  of  instances  in  which 
somebody's  "fancy/'  tied  on  the  spot, 
brings  up  fish,  after  all  the  standard  favor- 
ites have  proved  worthless.  This  success 
of  the  aforesaid  fancies  is  too  often  "  for 
this  occasion  only." 

But  there  again  are  instances  which  lead 
to  the  belief  that  the  fish  sometimes  rises 
through  anger,  aversion,  or  a  desire  to  at- 
tack and  drive  away  the  fly.  Here  it  is 
possible  that  a  resemblance  is  seen  to  some- 
thing which  has  elsewhere  been  an  annoy- 
ance. Sometimes  the  reason  of  the  anger 
is  evident,  as  when  a  heavy  male  salmon 
makes  open-jawed  rushes  at  the  casting- 
line  which  holds  his  mate  captive.  But 
ordinarily  the  reason  of  the  attraction  or 
annoyance  excited  by  a  fly  must  be  merely 
a  matter  of  conjecture.  A  friend  of  the 
writer,  a  very  skilful  and  observant  angler, 
relates  the  following  instance :  On  one 
of  those  depressing  days  in  which  salmon 
are  very  abundant,  plainly  visible,  and  ab- 
solutely indifferent  to  the  angler's  solici- 
tation, he  laid  down  his  rod,  and,  for 
experiment's  sake,  dragged  or  floated  over 


20 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

the  head  of  an  accessible  fish,  various 
salmon-flies  fastened  to  a  cord.  One  fly 
after  another- passed,  apparently  unnoticed, 
certainly  unheeded,  until  the  "Jock  Scott" 
was  used.  Then  the  fish  seemed  to  be  un- 
easy. The  experiment  was  repeated  several 
times,  and  as  often  as  this  fly  came  over 
him  his  ordinary  indifference  gave  place  to 
disturbance;  he  would  move  himself,  often 
turning  his  head  away  or  moving  sidewise, 
until  the  fly  had  passed.  Whether  this  dis- 
like was  due  to  a  resemblance  of  the  fly  to 
something  else,  or  to  a  recollection  of  an 
unpleasant  struggle  with  such  a  fly,  can 
only  be  guessed.  The  sporting  of  salmon 
with  leaves  which  float  down  stream,  and 
with  the  appearance  of  which  they  must 
be  quite  familiar,  seems  to  be  due  to  pure 
frolic,  like  the  circling  "  walk-arounds " 
of  leaping  trout,  sometimes  seen  in  an 
eddy. 

About  special  flies  this  article  has  noth- 
ing to  say.  Out  of  the  enormous  list  of 
special  patterns  of  salmon-flies  pertaining 
to  various  rivers,  a  certain  peerage  of  "gen- 
eral "  flies  has  been  gathered  by  the  suf- 
frages of  universal  experience,  and  to  it, 
from  year  to  year,  others  are  elevated.  But 
the  steady  way  in  which  these  standard  pat- 
terns displace  the  special  ones  from  their 


Getting  Old  tlie  Fly  Books 

own  strongholds  forces  one  to  believe  that 
the  latter  had  usually  little  else  than  tradi- 
tion and  local  pride  in  their  favor.  Ex- 
ceptionally, some  peculiarity  of  light  and 
water  will  give  a  real  advantage  to  a  local 
favorite;  and  when  this  advantage  is  asso- 
ciated with  some  singularity  of  color  or 
structure,  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  fly 
may  resemble  something  known  as  food, 
or  as  an  enemy  to  the  salmon.  But  if  one 
takes  a  dozen  or  twenty  approved  standard 
patterns,  he  cannot  fail  to  notice  that  every 
one  has  some  peculiarity  —  as  brilliancy, 
striking  color,  or  strong  contrast  —  that 
makes  it  an  object  likely  to  attract  atten- 
tion in  the  water. 

The  pleasures  of  fly-fishing  are  not  con- 
fined to  those  who  have  access  to  trout 
brooks  and  salmon  rivers.  The  widespread 
black  bass  readily  takes  the  fly;  and  many 
humbler  fish,  such  as  chub  and  sunfish,  give 
good  sport  if  the  tackle  be  suitably  light. 
Indeed,  almost  any  fish  that  feeds  near 
the  surface  will  take  the  moving  sunken 
fly,  whether  in  fresh  or  salt  water.  The 
resources  of  the  fisherman  are  much 
increased  in  the  South  by  the  use  of  the 
fly  in  shallow  bays,  harbors,  and  lagoons. 
Game  fish  of  large  size  and  excellent 
quality  are  thus  taken  in  abundance.  In 


22 


Getting  Out  the  Fly  Books 

the  North  the  pollack,  the  various  her- 
rings, shad,  and  white  perch  are  among 
the  most  interesting  of  the  fish  to  be  so 
taken.  Young  bluefish  in  tideways  give 
excellent  sport ;  but  their  teeth  are  so  de- 
structive that  a  material  stouter  than  feath- 
ers —  such  as  bright-colored  flannel  —  is 
needed  to  form  the  lure,  if  it  is  to  last. 

The  fly-books  are  still  full  of  untouched 
"heads  of  discourse,''  yet  let  us  close  them 
with  but  this  remark  :  that  he  who  ties 
his  own  flies,  and  makes  his  own  rods  and 
tackle,  will  have  a  keener  personal  inter- 
est in  his  pastime,  and  give  it  an  addi- 
tional pleasure  which  he  may  enjoy  in 
the  long  winter  evenings,  when  the  weary 
man  craves  a  light  amusement. 


THE    LAND    OF    THE 
WINANISHE 

Leroy  Milton  Yale  and  J.  G.  Aylwin  Creigbton 


BOUT  one  hundred 
miles  nearly  due  north 
from  Quebec  lies  Lake 
St.  John,  some  twenty- 
six  miles  long  by  twenty 
wide.  It  is  of  no  great 
depth,  hence  its  Indian 
name,  Pikouagami,  or,  "  the  Flat  Lake," 
which  expresses  well  the  appearance  of  its 
shores  and  its  function  as  a  settling-basin 
for  the  silt  of  a  dozen  rivers  which  pour 
into  it  the  waters  of  a  tract  the  size  of 
the  State  of  Maine.  Fed  by  innumerable 
lakes  and  streams,  most  of  these  rivers 
are  large.  Three  of  them  —  the  Ashuap- 
mouchouan,  "  the  river  where  they  watch 
the  moose,"  the  Mistassini,  or  "river  of  the 
great  rock,"  and  the  Peribonca,  "  the  cu- 
rious river  " —  come  from  great  lakes  on 
the  summit  of  the  watershed  between  the 
St.  Lawrence  and  Hudson's  Bay,  receive 

27 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

large  tributaries,  are  from  200  to  250 
miles  long,  and  are  over  a  mile  wide  at 
their  mouths,  which  are  close  together  at 
the  north-western  end  of  the  lake.  The 
Ashuapmouchouan,  the  smallest  of  the 
three,  is  sometimes  erroneously  marked  on 
maps  as  the  upper  part  of  the  Saguenay; 
but  this  name  really  belongs  to  none  of 
them.  This  immense  volume  of  water, 
which  raises  the  lake  at  times  twenty-five 
feet,  has  but  one  outlet,  divided  for  the  first 
eight  miles  into  two  branches  by  Alma 
Island,  at  the  foot  of  which  the  Grande 
Decharge,  after  a  circuit  of  twelve  miles 
in  mighty  rapids,  unites  with  the  Petite 
Decharge  —  straighter,  and  held  in  check 
by  dams  for  the  safe  passage  of  timber  - 
to  form  La  Decharge  du  Lac  St.  Jean, 
a  mighty  stream,  which,  after  a  turbulent 
course  of  some  thirty  miles  more,  wrenches 
asunder  the  syenite  at  Les  Terres  Rom- 
pues,  seven  miles  above  Chicoutimi,  and 
expanding  into  fjord-like  reaches,  becomes 
the  Saguenay. 

Near  the  lake  the  scenery  is  tame  ;  but 
beyond  the  boundaries  of  the  prehistoric 
sea,  which  probably  discharged  by  the  St. 
Maurice  instead  of  by  the  Saguenay,  there 
is  a  land  of  mountain  and  forest,  lake  and 
river.  The  ranges  are  low,  except  up  the 
28 


The  Land  of  tfu  Winanish* 

Peribonca  and  to  the  south,  where  the 
Laurentians  are  massed;  but  every  stream 
cuts  its  way  in  falls  and  rapids  of  great  size, 
beauty,  and  endless  variety. 

This  region  was  better  known  to  the 
French  colonists  two  centuries  ago  than  it 
is  to  the  average  Canadian  to-day.  Tra- 
ders had  their  eyes  on  the  supposed  El 
Dorado  as  early  as  Roberval's  ill-fated  ex- 
pedition in  1543  ;  and  as  soon  as  Cham- 
plain  established  La  Nouvelle  France,  the 
post  at  Tadoussac  attracted  the  Indians 
from  the  upper  Saguenay.  The  "  Rela- 
tions des  Jesuites  "  for  1647  an<^  l^52  g^ve 
accounts  of  Pere  De  Quen's  voyages  to 
Lake  St.  John.  In  the  Relation  of  1658, 
the  various  river  routes  to  Hudson's  Bay 
are  described  with  much  greater  accuracy 
than  in  the  would-be  discoveries  of  sensa- 
tional writers  of  the  present  time.  In 
1 66 1,  Fathers  Gabriel  Druillettes  and 
Claude  Dablon,  in  "  the  first  voyage  made 
toward  the  Northern  Sea,"  got  as  far  as 
Lake  Nikoubau,  at  the  head  of  the  Ashu- 
apmouchouan,  where  a  great  trading-fair 
was  held  annually  by  the  Indians.  But  for 
fear  of  the  Iroquois,  who  were  then  on 
the  war-path,  they  would  have  anticipated 
Pere  Albanel's  journey  to  Hudson's  Bay  in 
1672.  In  1680  an  adventurer  named  Pel- 
tier had  a  trading-post  at  Nikoubau. 

31 


The  Land  of  tJie   U'inanishe 

It  was  not  till  1842  that  the  expiration 
of  the  lease  of  the  King's  Posts  to  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company,  the  successors  of  the 
Northwest  Company  and  of  the  farmers  of 
the  Domaine  du  Roi,  ended  two  centuries 
of  monopoly  which  had  represented  the 
region  to  be  an  Arctic  desert.  But  the 
energy  of  the  Prices,  "  the  Lumber  Kings," 
and  of  colonization  societies  formed  in  the 
counties  along  the  lower  St.  Lawrence, 
among  the  descendants  of  the  Normans 
and  Bretons,  who  gave  English  blood  its 
strongest  strain  of  adventure,  has  filled  the 
triangle  between  Ha  Ha  Bay,  Chicoutimi, 
and  Lake  St.  John  with  thickly  settled 
parishes,  and  strung  out  a  chain  of  settle- 
ments round  the  south  and  west  shores  of 
the  lake  to  1 20  miles  from  Chicoutimi. 
Except  the  missions  and  posts  which 
connected  Tadoussac  with  Mistassini  and 
Hudson's  Bay,  there  was  not  a  settlement 
on  the  Saguenay  till  1838.  Ten  years  later 
the  colonists  were  at  Lake  St.  John,  and 
in  1888  the  population  was  over  40,000. 
Protected  from  the  cold  winds  of  the  Gulf, 
with  a  climate  and  winter  better  and  shorter 
than  at  Quebec,  and  a  soil  in  which  the 
long  hot  days  of  the  brief  Northern  sum- 
mer bring  to  quick  maturity  such  semi- 
tropical  products  as  maize,  melons,  hemp, 
32 


T/if    f.,i>i'i  ,' 


tobacco, 
etc.,  the 
region 
has  de- 
veloped 
slowly, 
because 
so  isolat- 
ed.    To 
get  to 
Quebec 
there 
were  the 
Saguenay  steam- 
ers   in    summer, 
or  a  long  round 
over  the  moun- 
tains   by   roads   impass- 
able  for   weeks    in    au- 
tumn  and    spring,    and 
running  through  a  hun- 
dred   miles    of   wilder- 
ness. 

But  whatever  value 
the  region  may  have  for 
the  settler,  or  charms 
for  the  eye  of  the  tourist,  it  has  for  the 
angler  an  unique  attraction,  —  it  is  the 
land  of  the  winanishe.  And  what  is  a 
winanishe  ? 

33 


Tlie  Land  of  the   Winanishe 

The  winanishe  — or  ouinaniche,  accord- 
ing to  French  spelling --is  a  fish,  and  a 
fish  of  great  interest  to  both  naturalist  and 
angler.  The  etymology  of  the  name,  which 
is  said  to  be  Indian  for  "  saumon  de  1'eau 
douce/'  :  is  untraceable  in  either  Monta- 
gnais  or  Cree :  the  most  probable  derivation 
is  that  which  assigns  it  to  an  Indian  attempt 
to  pronounce  "saumon,"  with  the  addi- 
tion of  the  well-known  diminutive  "ishe." 
This  exactly  describes  the  fish,  --  the  little 
salmon,  -  -  for  to  the  naturalist  it  is  simply 
an  Atlantic  salmon  of  small  size,  which  is 
not  anadromous;  that  is,  does  not  periodi- 
cally run  up  from  the  sea.  The  same  fish  is 
found  in  parts  of  Maine,  Nova  Scotia,  and 
New  Brunswick,  and  known  as  the  land- 
locked salmon,  and  is  probably  identical 
with  the  land-locked  salmon  of  Sweden. 
Salmo  salar,  variety  Sebago,  is  its  scientific 
name,  the  latter  part  of  the  appellation  com- 
ing from  a  lake  in  Maine  where  it  attains  its 
greatest  size.  The  identity  of  the  winan- 
ishe with  the  Salmo  salar  is  quite  settled 
by  its  anatomy.  Size  and  color,  always 

*  The  meaning  here  assigned  to  the  word  winanishe  is  proba- 
bly erroneous.  In  a  later  article  Mr.  Creighton  thinks  it  "prob- 
ably derived  from  the  Cree  root  '  wan,'  to  lose  or  mistake,  applied 
either  to  the  fish  having  lost  itself,  or  being  taken  for  a  salmon." 
In  Ojibway,  a  closely  allied  tongue,  ivani  in  composition  always 
means  mistake  or  error;  and  nin  ivaninishka  would  mean,  I  go 
around,  or  by  a  circuitous  route.  Whether  there  is  any  real  ety- 
mological connection,  however,  is  hard  to  say.  —  L.  M.  Y. 

34 


The  Land  of  the   Winanishe 

uncertain  and  variable  characteristics  in  the 
Salmonida,  are  affected  by  locality;  and  the 
habits  of  a  fish  are  adapted,  if  possible,  to 
surroundings.  The  real  problem  in  each 
case  of"  land-locking  "  is  how  it  happened, 
which  cannot  be  discussed  here. 

In  the  Saguenay  there  is  no  reason  why 
the  fish  should  not  go  to  the  sea  ;  in  fact, 
they  do  descend  to  the  tideway  in  large 
numbers  every  spring  with  the  heavy  floods, 
but  whether  they  remount  is  as  yet  unde- 
termined. The  falls  and  heavy  rapids  may 
be  insuperable  even  for  their  activity  and 
strength,  but  we  are  inclined  to  think  they 
return  to  spawn  in  the  Decharge.  Stray 
individuals  have  been  caught  in  the  Sague- 
nay Rivers,  at  Tadoussac,  and  even  in  the 
St.  Lawrence  above  the  Saguenay ;  but  they 
are  the  exception  which  proves  the  rule 
that  the  winanishe  is  peculiar  to  Lake  St. 
John  and  its  streams.*  In  the  lake  itself 
they  are  abundant  in  spring.  When  the 
high  water  begins  to  fall  they  approach 
the  shores,  and  are  taken  in  great  numbers 
at  the  mouths  of  the  rivers.  In  June  the 
great  body  of  the  fish  seem  to  descend  into 

*  This  statement  must  be  now  modified.  In  1889  Mr.  Creigh- 
ton  observed  them  in  the  Musquarro  and  other  Labrador  streams, 
and  more  recently  it  has  been  found  to  be  pretty  generally  distrib^ 
uted  through  that  peninsula,  especially  in  streams  which  empty  con- 
siderable lake  areas.  They  have  been  found  even  in  the  Hamilton 
River,  above  the  Grand  Falls.  —  L.  M.  Y. 

35 


The  Land  of  the   Winanishe 

the  Grande  Decharge,  —  before  the  bar- 
ring of  the  Petite  Decharge  they  descended 
it  also,  —  and  are  found  feeding  on  flies  and 
small  fish  in  the  great  eddies,  a  few  lying 
among  the  rocks  along  the  rapids. 

So  far  their  movements  correspond  ex- 
actly with  Mr.  Atkins's  observations  at 
the  Schqodic  Lakes.  But  it  is  uncertain 
whether,  as  there,  they  reascend  and  come 
down  again  in  October  to  spawn.  Part 
probably  do  go  back  to  the  lake,  and  part 
spawn  in  the  Decharge.  In  September 
they  are  found  in  the  rivers  running  into 
the  lake,  and  spawn  in  October  on  the 


The  head  of  the  Vache  Caille  Rapid. 
36 


T/ie  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

gravelly  shallows  of  these  rivers.  Besides 
those  to  which  Lake  St.  John  is  the  sea, 
there  are  winanishe  which  seem  to  live 
and  spawn  in  the  upper  waters  of  the 
large  rivers,  and  in  the  lakes  from  which 
these  flow.  They  are  of  much  larger 
average  size  in  these  lakes,  but  refuse  the 
fly  at  all  seasons,  and  can  be  taken  only  by 
bait  or  trolling.  In  all  probability  the  fish 
has  a  wide  range  to  the  north,  but  confu- 
sion of  nomenclature,  the  rare  opportunity 
for  skilled  observation,  and  the  difficulty 
of  getting  reliable  information  from  Indi- 
ans and  lumbermen,  leave  a  good  field  for 
investigation. 

Now  let  us  see  what  points  the  winan- 
ishe has  for  the  angler,  who  regards  the 
look  and  ways  of  a  fish  rather  than  its 
bones.  In  appearance  a  fresh-run  salmon 
and  a  fresh-run  winanishe  do  not  differ 
much  more  than  salmon  from  different  riv- 
ers. The  back  of  a  winanishe  is  greener 
blue,  and  in  a  fish  just  out  of  water  can  be 
seen  to  be  marked  with  olive  spots,  some- 
thing like  the  vermiculations  on  a  trout ; 
the  silvery  sides  are  more  iridescent  ;  the 
X-marks  are  more  numerous  and  less 
sharply  defined ;  the  patches  of  bronze, 
purple,  and  green  on  the  gill-covers  are 
larger  and  more  brilliant,  and  with  them 

37 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

are  several  large  round  black  spots.  As 
the  water  grows  warm,  the  bright  hues 
get  dull,  and  toward  autumn  the  rusty  red 
color  and  hooked  lower  jaw  of  the  spawn- 
ing salmon  develop.  As  the  winanishe, 
unlike  the  salmon,  feeds  continuously,  and 
in  much  heavier  and  swifter  water  than 
salmon  He  in,  it  has  a  slimmer  body  and 
larger  fins,  so  that  a  five-pound  winanishe 
can  leap  higher  and  oftener  than  a  grilse, 
and  fight  like  a  ten-pound  salmon.  The 
variety  of  its  habits,  which  are  a  com- 
pound of  those  of  the  trout  and  those 
of  the  salmon,  with  some  peculiarities  of 
its  own,  gives  great  charm  to  winanishe- 
angling,  and  opportunity  for  every  style, 
from  the  "floating  fly"  on  tiny  hooks  to 
the  "  sink  and  draw  "  of  the  salmon  cast. 
It  takes  the  fly  readily  when  in  the  hu- 
mor, though  wary  and  capricious,  like  all 
its  relations,  and  fights  hard,  uniting  the 
dash  of  the  trout  with  the  doggedness  and 
ingenuity  of  the  salmon. 

In  railway  and  hotel  prospectuses,  the 
winanishe  weighs  from  five  to  fourteen 
pounds.  In  Lake  St.  John  and  the  De- 
charge,  the  average  is  two  and  a  half; 
four-pounders  are  large,  and  not  too  plen- 
tiful, while  six-pounders  are  scarce.  The 
winanishe  is,  however,  much  longer  than  a 
38 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

trout  of  the  same  weight ;  a  five-pounder, 
for  example,  is  twenty-five  inches  long, 
twelve  in  girth,  and  looks  like  an  eight- 
pound  salmon.  Now  and  then  solitary 
fish  of  great  size  are  seen,  old  habitants 
dating  from  "  les  premieres  annees  "  when 
"  ^a  en  bouillait,  Monsieur,  des  grosses 
comme  des  carcajous "  (it  just  boiled,  sir, 
with  ones  as  big  as  wildcats)  ;  but  they 
are  intensely  wary,  and  carefully  guarded 
by  the  demon  of  ill-luck.  Oh,  the  ago- 
nizing memory  of  that  winanishe  which, 
after  a  two  hours'  fight,  made  even  tough 
old  Theodose  lose  his  head  and  —  the  fish  ! 
Mr.  David  Price  is  credited  with  an  eleven- 
pounder,  —  the  Prices  always  did  things 
on  the  largest  scale, —  but  among  some 
thousands  we  have  seen  only  one  seven- 
pounder.  With  a  rod  of  eight  to  ten 
ounces,  one  gets  almost  the  excitement  of 
salmon-fishing  -  -  without  its  hard  work 
and  vexation  of  spirit;  for  the  number  and 
gameness  of  the  fish  make  up  for  the 
smaller  size.  They  are  unfortunately  de- 
creasing fast,  both  in  number  and  weight. 
In  the  Grande  Decharge,  where,  on  ac- 
count of  the  winanishe's  peculiar  ways, 
the  pools  were  always  few  in  proportion 
to  the  extent  of  water,  there  are  but  a  few 
places  now  where  a  day's  sport  is  certain, 

39 


The  Land  of  the   Winaniske 

and  these  are  in  private  hands.  Settlement 
and  netting  in  the  lake  have  had  a  great 
effect,  and  the  opening  up  of  markets  by 
the  railway  will  hasten  the  extinction  of 
this  beautiful  game  fish. 

Until  recently  the  Decharge  could  be 
reached  only  by  the  way  of  Chicoutimi. 
There  the  traveller  had  a  choice  of  routes. 
To  the  angler  who  finds  more  joy  in  the 
haunts  of  fish  than  in  fishing,  the  ascent 
of  the  Saguenay  by  canoe  is  well  worth 
the  time  taken  from  his  angling  ;  but  the 
man  who  dislikes  rough  water  and  rocky 
portages  must  take  a  tedious  drive  of  sixty 
miles  via  Hebertville.  Last  year  the  com- 
pletion of  the  Quebec  and  Lake  St.  John 
Railway  as  far  as  the  lake  afforded  a  new 
route,  which  we  took,  partly  to  see  the 
country  and  partly  to  make  sure  of  being 
on  the  water  before  the  winanishe,  which, 
as  becomes  a  fish  peculiar  to  so  French- 
Canadian  and  devout  a  region,  makes  a 
point  to  spend  the  national  feast-day,  St. 
John  the  Baptist,  with  his  expectant 
friends  ;  or,  failing  to  keep  this  tryst,  that 
of  St.  Peter  and  St.  Paul,  which  for  obvi- 
ous reasons  seems  the  more  appropriate 
time. 

Early  on  a  mid -June  morning  —  if  in- 
deed in  that  latitude  and  season  any  hour 
40 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

can  be  called  early  —  we  met  at  the  rail- 
way station  at  Quebec.  The  first  fifty 
miles  of  the  road  sweeps  off  to  the  west 
through  a  fairly  settled  farming  country. 
As  there  is  nothing  of  especial  interest 
without,  we  turn  to  that  solace  of  the 
traveller,  the  time-table  and  map. 

All  roads  led  to  Rome,  all  new  railways 
run  to  the  "  Sportsman's  Paradise/'  As 
he  reads  the  old  familiar  tale,  our  reac- 
tionist--who  envies  the  Jesuits  because 
they  got  here  before  him,  and  died  before 
railways  were  known  —  says  something 
about  "  beholding  heaven  and  feeling 
hell  "  and  "  sportsmen's  curse."  But  per- 
haps he  means  the  mosquitoes,  black  flies, 
and  sandflies ;  they  are  plentiful.  So  are 
trout,  and  big  ones  too  —  in  due  place 
and  season.  The  prospectus,  however,  is 
judiciously  reticent  as  to  these  details,  leav- 
ing the  stranger  to  learn  them  for  himself, 
along  with  colloquial  French  and  the  ways 
of  Indian  guides. 

But  what  an  epitome  of  Canadian  his- 
tory is  this  little  list  of  stations  !  Here 
and  there  an  Indian  name  survives,  telling 
of  the  original  inhabitants.  Valcartier, 
Roberval,  and  Stadacona  carry  us  back  to 
the  first  bold  but  fruitless  attempt  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  while  Hebertville  is  a 

43 


The  Land  of  the   WinaniJu 

monument  to  the  Cure  who  led  the  set- 
tlers of  Lake  St.  John,  and  incidentally  to 
the  fecundity  of  the  first  habitant  of  the 
New  France  of  Champlain.  Dablon  and 
De  Quen  now  stand  side  by  side  on  the 
railway-table,  as  those  names  did  once  in 
the  roll  of  the  Societas  Militans.  And 
how  are  the  old  trapper  and  to-day's  man 
of  business  confronted  in  Lac  Gros  Visons 
and  Skroder's  Mills ! 

From  the  Riviere  a  Pierre  to  De  Quen 
is  a  stretch  of  more  than  one  hundred 
miles  which,  except  for  the  railway,  is  an 
unbroken  wilderness.  Occasionally  the 
train  halts  for  a  sportsman  whose  canoe 
waits  at  the  lake  beside  which  we  are 
running.  The  valley  of  the  wild  river 
Batiscan  leads  up  to  the  head  of  Lac 
Edouard,  where  we  dine  and  are  told  tales 
of  wonderful  trout-fishing  to  be  had  for 
the  asking,  as  the  lake  is  leased  by  the 
railway  company.  At  the  end  of  the 
afternoon  we  arrived  at  a  cross-road,  which 
at  that  unfinished  state  of  the  line  was 
"  nowhere  in  particular,"  *  but  presented 
the  only  feasible  way  of  getting  to  the 
highway  which,  skirting  the  lake,  gives 

*  The  road  has  since  been  completed;  and  the  region,  with  its 
railway,  its  tiny  boats  on  Lake  St.  John  and  adjacent  waters,  its 
hotels  and  rush  of  summer  visitors,  is  now  about  as  sophisticated  as 
the  Adirondack^.  But  the  winanishe  still  survives. 

44 


The  Land  of  the   Winanishe 

access  to  the  parishes  east  and  west.  Pas- 
sengers and  luggage  were  deposited  upon 
a  rocky  bank,  at  the  foot  of  which,  in  a 
slough,  were  gathered  a  goodly  number 
of  quatre  roues,  -  -  the  buck-boards  of  the 
locality,  a  seat  in  the  middle  of  a  plank, 
with  a  rude  and  jointless  chaise-top  above. 
After  a  due  amount  of  haggling,  we  found 
transport  through  two  miles  of  hub-deep 
mud  to  the  village  of  Pointe  aux  Trem- 
bles, one  of  the  many  of  that  name  in  the 
province,  and  were  left  at  "  Poole's,"  "  le 
vrai  hotel  pour  les  Messieurs,"  a  freshly 
made  log  house  hurried  up  by  the  energy 
of  the  proprietor,  who  had  for  some  time 
moved  along  with  the  railway. 

It  was  an  evening's  work  to  find  con- 
veyance to  St.  Joseph  d'Alma  on  the  Petite 
Decharge,  within  which  parish  our  fishing 
lay.  If  an  arrangement  were  concluded, 
it  would  then  turn  out  that  half  a  day  was 
wanted  to  mend  the  wagon,  or  to  send  for 
a  set  of  harness.  The  little  crowd  which 
always  gathers  on  such  important  occasions 
was  so  actively  and  volubly  interested  that 
it  was  hard  to  get  in  a  word  of  our  own. 
The  claims  of  rival  candidates  were  warm- 
ly discussed  by  their  respective  friends. 
"  It  is  not  everybody  who  should  pretend 
that  he  is  capable  of  conducting  Messieurs, 

45 


The  Land  of  the  Winanish* 

who,  as  one  easily  sees,  are  truly  des  Mes- 
sieurs." Everybody,  however,  was  "  ben 
greye  "  (well-rigged).  One  driver  had  a 
buck-board  and  great  experience  :  "  It  is 
he,  sir,  who  drove  un  grand  Monsieur  de 
Baston,  two  years  ago,"  and  perhaps  he 
could  get  a  neighbor's  horse.  Another 
had  one  of  the  finest  mares  in  the  parish, 
but  it  was  keenly  debated  whether  her  foal 
could  make  the  journey.  A  third  could 
borrow  a  quatre  roue,  "  a  fine  one,  all  but  the 
wheels;  "  but  then  one  always  risks  some- 
thing, and  what  easier  than  for  the  Mes- 
sieurs to  hire  another  on  the  way  if  some 
accident  arrives:  it  is  not  as  with  poor  men, 
par  exemple,  who  must  look  at  five  cents. 

However,  we  got  off  in  good  time  next 
morning.  As  we  passed  the  village  church 
the  congregation  was  gathering  for  the 
weekly  gossip  before  service,  discussing  the 
notices  which  the  huissier  (bailiff  and  crier) 
was  affixing  to  the  church  doors,  and  - 
there  was  an  election  coming  —  anticipat- 
ing the  political  orations  after  mass,  which 
afford  keen  excitement  for  the  argumenta- 
tive and  voluble  habitant. 

The  road  lies  pleasantly  near  the  border 

of  the  lake,  and  its  course  can  be  traced 

right  and  left,  round  the  oval  contour,  by 

the  slender  white  thread  of  houses  on  the 

46 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

slopes  that  lead  from  the  broad  sand  beaches 
to  the  low  hills  which  close  in  the  land- 
scape on  three  sides.  At  intervals  the 
sparkle  of  tin-covered  spires  shows  where 
the  churches  bring  the  wide-scattered  par- 
ishes to  a  focus.  To  the  west  a  snowy 
patch,  visible  from  all  round  the  lake,  like 
the  topsail  of  a  ship  hull  down,  marks  the 
three-hundred-feet  fall  of  the  Ouiatchouan ; 
He  des  Couleuvres  and  He  de  la  Traverse 
appear  only  as  stripes  of  lighter  green 
against  the  dark  forests  of  the  mainland  ; 
Roberval  is  high  enough,  on  its  slaty  bed 
studded  with  corallites  and  madrepores,  to 
be  seen  as  a  cluster  of  white  dots ;  but 
Pointe  Bleue  is  a  mere  bank  of  indigo 
cloud  on  the  far  horizon,  and  only  an  In- 
dian's eyes  could  distinguish  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Post  and  the  buildings  on  the  Indian 
Reserve  from  the  crests  of  the  waves  which 
even  a  light  summer  breeze  raises  so  fast 
and  high.  An  outpost  flash  from  the 
church  of  St.  Prime  just  indicates  where, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Ashuapmouchouan, 
Fathers  Druillettes  and  Dablon  started  "on 
the  road  to  enter  for  good  and  all  into  the 
lands  of  Sathan  ;  "  but  northward  there  is 
nothing  but  water  and  sky,  for  the  sand 
dunes  and  savannes  of  the  unsettled  north- 
ern shore  are  far  below  the  horizon.  East- 

47 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

ward  the  long  curve  of  yellow  sand,  banded 
red  and  black  with  beds  of  iron  ore  rich 
in  garnets,  ends  in  the  low  blue  bluffs  and 
rocky  islets  that  guard  the  mouths  of  the 
Decharges,  and  is  backed  by  the  wooded 
ridge  between  the  lake  and  the  Saguenay, 
over  which  rise  the  distant  peaks  that  bor- 
der the  Shipshaw. 

The  houses  differ  little  from  the  ordi- 
nary French-Canadian  farmhouses  of  other 
sparsely  settled  districts.  Built  of  squared 
logs  well  calked  with  the  beaten  bark  of 
the  white  cedar,  or  with  oakum,  they  are 
frequently  sheathed  with  large  pieces  of 
birch-bark  held  in  place  by  hand-split  laths 
of  cedar,  while  the  curved-eaved  roof,  in 
default  of  shingles,  is  covered  in  the  same 
manner.  The  barns  are  often  thatched 
with  straw ;  but  the  outbuildings  frequently 
present  a  greater  appearance  of  thrift  than 
the  houses.  One  picturesque  outbuilding 
always  catches  the  eye,  —  the  oven.  That 
altar  of  weekly  burnt-offering  which  was 
the  glory  of  the  New  England  kitchen,  is 
here  set  up  out-of-doors,  as  if  to  give  it 
the  sanctity  of  isolation.  On  a  substruc- 
ture of  logs  the  oven  is  built  of  stones 
plastered  over  with  clay  ;  over  all,  if  the 
family  can  afford  it,  is  a  pent-roof  of 
boards. 

48 


The  Land  of  tJtt  Winanishe 

Galloping  up  and  down  the  short,  rough 
hills  jolted  us  smartly,  and  a  bag  of  angler's 
valuables  was  missed  some  miles  on  our 
way.  Thereupon  ensued  a  wordy  war  be- 
tween the  carter  and  the  passenger  whose 
command  of  habitant  French  was  most 
nearly  ^equal  to  the  occasion.  "  It  does 
not  do  to  offend  the  Bon  Dieu,"  said  the 
carter  solemnly  ;  "this  has  come  of  not 
hearing  mass  before  starting."  His  oppo- 
nent maintained  that  the  loss  was  due  to 
the  most  patent  carelessness  in  tying.  The 
bystander  was  impressed  by  the  frequently 
recurring  "  Sacre  bateau,"  probably  an  in- 
vocation of  the  original  "vessel  of  wrath  ;  " 
but  he  was  presently  left  with  the  luggage 
while  the  disputants  drove  back  to  search 
for  the  bag.  When  the  returning  vehicle 
was  visible  through  the  mosquito-cloud,  it 
was  evident  that  the  search  had  been  suc- 
cessful ;  and  as  it  drew  near,  the  conversa- 
tion had  softened  down  from  an  interchange 
of  "  gros  mots  "  to  a  discussion  of  respon- 
sibility and  criminal  negligence. 

The  vehicle  reloaded,  the  discussion  was 
resumed ;  and  the  carter,  finding  his  legal 
footing  very  insecure,  as  his  adversary  was 
a  man  of  law,  shifted  to  moral  grounds. 
Turning  his  back  upon  his  horse,  whose 
pace  was  an  entirely  safe  one,  he  proposed 

49 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

to  argue  the  matter  out,  with  the  by- 
stander as  the  judge.  Proposition  first : 
There  is  one  God,  for  rich  and  poor,  for 
Protestant  and  Catholic  alike.  Accepted 
without  objection.  Second:  It  is  the  duty 
of  all  to  worship  him.  Therefore  the  bag 
fell  off  because  the  driver  had  not  assisted 
at  mass.  Here  the  advocate  demurred. 
"  If  you  neglected  the  mass  it  was  of  your 
own  free  will,  and  the  responsibility  abides 
with  you."-  —  "Nay,"  responded  the  carter, 
"  I  am  poor  ;  I  must  have  bread  for  my 
wife  and  children.  God  grants  this  lib- 
erty to  the  poor,  and  the  responsibility 
recoils  upon  the  rich  who  offer  to  hire 
me,  and  who  can  afford  to  wait."  And  so 
the  debate  waged  till  the  steep  bank  of 
the  river  Metabetchouan  brought  it  to  a 
close.  The  rope  ferry  took  us  across,  and 
a  few  miles  more  brought  us  to  a  belated 
dinner  at  St.  Jerome.  The  afternoon  wore 
away  without  incident,  while  the  road  took 
us  across  La  Belle  Riviere,  that  old  high- 
way of  the  Jesuit  missionaries,  and  by  St. 
Gedeon. 

The  rustic  mind  seems  everywhere  to 
have  a  common  trait,  —  an  inability  to  give 
accurate  and  clear  information  concerning 
the  road  you  wish  to  travel.  If  we  asked 
the  distance  to  any  point,  one  responded, 
50 


The  Land  of  the   Winanishe 

"Di  (deux)  lieues;"  another,  "Trois  lieues 
et  encore  ;  "  and  the  third,  "  Trois  pipes," 
the  time  required  to  smoke  a  pipe  being 
a  measure  of  distance.  As  everything  in 
that  country  is  governed  by  the  inexorable 
"  coutume,"  it  is  possible  that  the  size  of 
pipes  and  the  quality  of  tobacco  are  suffi- 
ciently uniform  to  be  thus  used.  On  one 
occasion  only  did  the  group  questioned 
agree,  and  then  they  sent  us  several  miles 
out  of  our  way.  Finding  this  out,  we 
debated  turning  back,  when  a  passer-by 
directed  us  to  proceed,  and  to  cross  a  cer- 
tain bridge  which  would  bring  us  back  to 
our  road  more  quickly.  On  nearing  the 
bridge  we  were  warned  that  it  was  impas- 
sable from  the  high  water.  Our  inform- 
ant further  insisted  that  we  should  return 
several  miles,  as  M.  M-  — ,  the  proprietor, 
no  longer  allowed  passing  across  his  fields, 
and  had  that  day  so  announced  from  the 
church  steps ;  and,  as  the  tenant  of  M. 
M—  — ,  he  was  bound  to  obstruct  us. 

Despite  his  shrill  remonstrance,  we  per- 
severed in  our  trespassing.  As  we  crossed 
the  farm,  our  carter  was  moved  to  a  flight 
of  eloquence.  His  wrathful  thought  went 
back  to  the  old  man  who  had  sent  us  down 
to  the  bridge.  "  What  liars  they  are, 
gentlemen,  in  this  parish  !  Why  did  that 

53 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

old  man  send  us  to  the  bridge  ?  To  ingulf 
us,  gentlemen.  I  assure  you,  gentlemen, 
it  was  such  as  he  who  crucified  our  Lord." 
Instead  of  the  expected  angry  remon- 
strances, we  received  a  warm  welcome 
from  M.  M-  — ,  who  claimed  acquaint- 
ance with  the  advocate,  on  the  strength  of 
an  altercation  about  a  fishing-license  some 
eight  or  ten  years  before.  Some  parish 
politics  were  discussed;  but  our  names  were 
not  on  the  voting-list,  and  we  were  soon 
bidden  good-day.  But  we  were  already 
descending  the  Petite  Decharge  within 
hearing  of  its  roar,  and  soon  we  had  come 
into  the  village,  had  spoken  with  some 
of  the  handsome  black-eyed  boys,  one  of 
whom  assured  us  that  "  les  ouinaniches 
sautent,"  and  had  called  on  the  postmaster. 
Two  miles  farther  brought  us  opposite  to 
the  great  Vache  Caille  Eddy,  across  which, 
on  the  point  of  Alma  Island,  stands  the 
end  of  our  journey,  Alma  Lodge,  the  home 
of  the  Saguenay  Club,  a  well-built  log 
house,  with  all  that  is  necessary  to  the 
comfort  of  a  real  angler,  and  free  from 
the  vexatious  non-essentials  of  "  fancy  >: 
sporting-clubs.  A  signal  brought  a  canoe, 
and  we  were  presently  safely  across  before 
daylight  had  gone.  We  had  been  twelve 
hours  in  doing  thirty-five  miles ;  but  then, 

54 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

as  our  driver  remarked,   "  One  can  only 
do  one's  best ;  the  Bon  Dieu  has  not  made 
a    horse     to     trot    al- 
ways." 


Next  morning  we 
start  for  our  fishing 
with  a  "bonne  chance, 
Messieurs,"  from  the 
guardian's  pretty  wife, 
a  black-eyed,  olive- 
complexioned  girl  of 
sixteen.  The  house- 
keeping and  cuisine 
of  the  lodge  attest 


The  Point  of  He  Maligne, 

55 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

the  practical  teaching  of  the  Ursuline 
Convent  at  Roberval  ;  the  accomplish- 
ments appear  in  wonders  of  silk  embroid- 
ery on  hunting-shirts,  and  in  the  trained 
voice  which  enlivens  her  work  with 
chansons.  We  have  to  walk  to  the  head 
of  the  Vache  Caille  Rapid,  which  runs 
in  front  of  the  lodge. 

Two  of  the  canoemen,  putting  their 
canoes  on  their  heads  almost  as  easily  as 
their  hats,  have  gone  on ;  their  mates 
wait  for  the  rods  and  traps.  A  fine  quar- 
tette they  are,  French-Canadians  all,  of 
the  voyageur  type,  with  all  the  skill  of  the 
Indian  in  woodcraft,  and  ten  times  his 
courage  ;  brown  and  strong  from  trapping 
and  lumbering  all  their  lives ;  grave  and 
serious  looking,  but  with  a  keen  vein  of 
humor  ;  shrewd  and  hard  bargaining,  but 
thoroughly  honest ;  unable,  perhaps,  to 
write  their  names,  but  with  a  genuine 
polish  of  manner  which  compels  respect 
by  its  dignified  deference.  One  can  make 
companions  and  friends  of  such  men  as 
these.  Their  costume  is  simple  enough. 
Home-made  trousers  of  the  home-woven 
gray  woollen  etoffe  du  pays  tucked  into  the 
wrinkled  legs  of  the  long  moccasins  tied 
below  the  knee,  which,  in  contradistinc- 
tion from  town-made  "  bottes  franfaises," 
56 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

are  known  as  "  bottes  sauvages;"  a  flannel 
shirt,  with  a  gay  kerchief  in  a  broad  fold 
over  the  chest;  a  soft  felt  hat  of  Protean 
shapes  and  uses,  with  a  cherished  fly  or 
two  stuck  in  the  crown,  —  perhaps,  if  "  la 
blonde "  is  near  her  "cavalier,"  a  feather 
or  a  wild-flower  in  the  band. 

The  volume  of  the  rapids,  the  swiftness, 
complexity,  and  heavy  swirls  of  the  cur- 
rents, make  canoeing  most  exciting,  and  at 
times  a  little  dangerous,  on  these  waters. 
They  are  too  deep  for  the  use  of  setting- 
poles,  and  everything  depends  on  strength 
and  skill  with  the  paddle.  Mounting  the 
Grande  Decharge,  when  it  is  fifteen  feet 
above  summer  level,  and  running  like  a 
mill-race,  is  hard  work.  But,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  every  eddy,  gripping  rocks  with 
hand  and  paddle,  handing  along  by  the 
tops  of  the  submerged  alders,  passing  be- 
tween branches  of  overhanging  trees  un- 
dermined by  the  current,  by  sheer  dint 
of  hard  paddling  we  get  up  a  mile  and  a 
half.  Now  for  the  traverse.  The  canoe 
sweeps  down  and  across  in  a  beautiful 
curve,  head  up  stream,  with  the  paddles 
flashing  like  lightning,  except  when  a  tour- 
niquet catches  her  and  spins  her  half  round 
a  circle,  while  Joseph  with  a  sidelong 
sweep  decapitates  a  wave  which  threatens 

59 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

to  lop  over  the  gunwale.  "  Un  animal 
d'un  tourniquet,"  he  says,  pointing  to  the 
funnel-shaped  whirl  swiftly  gyrating  down 
stream,  the  air-bubbles  hissing  through 
the  yellow  water  like  the  bead  in  a  glass 
of  champagne.  We  are  nearly  half  a 
mile  down  when  the  canoe  swings  with 
a  sharp  shock  into  the  up-eddy  on  the 
opposite  shore. 

"  C'est  la  place  de  peche,  Monsieur," 
says  Narcisse,  easing  off  the  grip  of  his 
teeth  on  his  pipe  ;  and  Joseph,  having  fin- 
ished drinking  out  of  the  rim  of  his  hat, 
remarks  that  "  on  a  coutume  de  prendre 
des  grosses  ici."  Winanishe,  like  trout, 
are  of  the  fair  sex  in  French,  and  are 
roughly  classified  into  "  petites,"  "belles," 
and  "  grosses." 

This  is  the  famous  "  Remou  de  Caron," 
or  Caron's  Eddy.  The  big  white  waves 
surging  round  the  rocky  island,  which 
later  on  will  become  a  point  covered  with 
bushes,  are  the  tail  of  the  Caron  Rapid, 
a  crooked  and  dangerous  one,  because  of 
the  height  of  its  waves  and  the  size  of  its 
tourniquets  or  whirlpools,  which  suck  down 
sawlogs  as  if  they  were  chips,  casting 
them  up  a  couple  of  hundred  yards  farther 
down,  to  be  caught  in  the  eddies  and 
swept  again  and  again  through  the  wild 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

rush  of  water,  until  the  ever-changing  set 
of  the  current  tosses  them  on  the  rocks, 
or  carries  them  off  down  stream.  Pool, 
in  the  angler's  usual  understanding  of  the 
term,  there  is  none ;  for  the  deep  river, 
over  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  is  totally 
unlike  a  salmon  or  trout  stream.  At  first 
he  is  rather  bewildered  by  the  interlacing 
currents  running  in  every  direction,  bear- 
ing along  streaks  of  froth,  which  gathers 
in  patches  as  dazzling  as  snow,  that  re- 
volve slowly  for  a  minute  or  two,  then 
suddenly  dissolving,  go  dancing  in  long 
white  lines  over  the  short  ripples. 

"£a  saute,  Monsieur:"  no  splash  marks 
the  rise,  but  a  broad  tail  appears  and  dis- 
appears where  a  winanishe  is  busy  picking 
flies  out  of  the  foam  ;  then  another  and 
another  still.  They  are  "  making  the 
tour  "  round  the  whole  system  of  minor 
eddies  and  currents,  sometimes  staying  a 
minute  in  some  large  patch  of  froth  where 
the  flies  are  thick,  sometimes  swimming 
and  rising  rapidly  in  a  straight  current 
line,  and  finally  going  out  on  the  tops  of 
the  long  glassy  rollers  at  the  tail  of  the 
main  eddy  into  the  white  water  of  the 
main  current,  which  carries  them  back 
again  to  the  other  end  of  the  remou.  The 
fish  when  fresh-run  make  these  feeding- 

61 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

:-=^- ~~ .  -"     -  — '-         '-'  ' ^^~  | 


The  End  of  Canoe  Journey. 

tours  rrequently  during  the  day,  but  only 
in  the  morning  and  evening  when  they 
have  grown  fat  and  lazy  and  the  water 
is  warm.  At  other  times,  when  on  the 
feed,  they  rise  as  the  patches  of  broue  float 
over  their  lairs.  Except  in  swift  and 
shallow  water,  where  they  are  seldom 
found,  or  when  coming  with  a  rush  from 
the  bottom  of  a  deep  hole  among  the 
rocks,  they  do  not  leap  for  the  fly  like 
trout;  they  take  it  like  salmon,  on  the 
downward  turn,  gently  and  deliberately. 
The  salmon-cast,  with  a  medium-sized 
salmon-fly,  is  therefore  the  most  effective. 
Jock  Scott,  Curtis,  Popham,  Silver  Doctor, 
and  Donkey  are  all  good  flies,  the  first 
named  being  always  a  stand-by.  Yellow 
and  black  seems  the  favorite  combination  ; 
gray  comes  next,  but  red  meets  with  little 
favor.  The  silver-bodied  flies  are  best  at 
62 


The  Land  of  the   Winanishe 

high  water ;   at   a    low  and  bright  stage, 
trout-flies  come  into  play. 

A  patch  of  broue  comes  swirling  along, 
with  a  fish  in  it.  It  requires  a  quick  hand 
to  put  the  fly  where  it  will  do  most  good. 
To  a  novice  it  is  much  like  fishing  "  on 
the  wing,"  but  practice  shows  where  to 
expect  the  fish.  The  rod  —  preferably  a 
light,  strong  trout-rod,  with  fifty  yards  of 
line  on  a  good  check-reel  —  swings,  and 
out  goes  the  fly,  which  is  allowed  to  sink 
a  few  inches,  and  is  then  drawn  in  with 
a  succession  of  slow  and  short  jerks,  not 
trailed  on  the  surface.  The  fish,  however, 
is  now  five  yards  farther  away,  and  on  the 
other  side  of  the  canoe.  This  constant 
change  in  length  and  direction  of  cast  is 
one  of  the  main  difficulties,  as  it  is  one 
of  the  excitements,  of  winanishe-angling. 
But  here  come  three  together  -  -  "  un  beau 
gang,"  to  use  Joseph's  anglicism.  The  fly 
falls  at  the  end  of  a  straight  line  ;  a  mo- 
mentary thrill  follows  a  gentle  pull  ;  you 
strike  with  the  orthodox  turn  of  the  wrist, 
—  and  then  blank  reaction.  The  drift 
of  the  canoe,  or  the  insetting  current,  has 
slackened  the  line,  and  the  fish  has  been 
missed.  "  C'est  dommage,  Monsieur,  vous 
1'avez  piquee."  The  fish  evidently  is 
piqued  in  every  sense  of  the  term,  and  will 

63 


TJie  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

have  no  more  of  your  flies.  Another  such 
experience  will  make  him  a  marked  mis- 
anthrope all  summer. 

When  you  strike,  it  must  be  hard,  for 
their  mouths  are  hard ;  but,  as  in  salmon- 
fishing,  no  rule  can  be  laid  down  beyond 
the  golden  one  to  keep  a  taut  line.  Though 
no  fish  are  visible,  you  cast  right  and  left. 
Presently,  while  quietly  reeling  in  an  ex- 
cess of  line,  down  goes  the  rod-tip  with  a 
smart  jerk ;  there  is  a  terribly  long  pause 
of  about  half  a  second,  then  the  reel  sings, 
and  thirty  yards  off  a  silver  bar  flashes 
through  the  air  three  or  four  times  in 
quick  succession,  for  it  is  a  fresh-run  fish 
hooked  in  a  tender  spot.  You  recover  a 
little  line,  then  out  it  goes  again  with  more 
pyrotechnics.  At  the  end  of  ten  or  fifteen 
minutes  he  comes  in  meekly,  with  an  occa- 
sional remonstrance,  and  you  think  it  time 
for  the  net.  The  leader  shows  above  water, 
and  the  rod  curves  into  a  semicircle  ;  but 
no  strain  you  can  put  on  raises  the  fish 
farther,  which  circles  slowly  around.  A 
sudden  dash  under  your  feet  drags  the  rod- 
tip  under  water,  but  is  foiled  by  a  quick 
turn  of  the  canoe.  Then  a  telegraphic  cir- 
cuit seems  to  have  been  established  through 
your  tired  arms  to  your  spine.  The  fish 
is  standing  on  his  head,  worrying  the  fly 
64 


The  Land  of  the   U'itianisJie 

like  a  bull-dog,  and  slapping  at  the  leader 
with  his  tail.  All  at  once  the  rod  springs 
back,  and  you  are  heavily  splashed  by  a  leap 
almost  into  your  face.  This  occurs  half  a 
dozen  times.  He  may  jump  into  the  canoe, 
perhaps  over  it;  we  have  seen  a  winanishe 
caught  in  the  air  in  the  landing--net  after 
it  had  shaken  the  fly  out  of  its  mouth.  He 
is  far  more  likely,  however,  to  smash  rod 
or  tackle,  unless  you  lower  the  tip  smartly. 
Some  more  runs  may  follow,  or  a  sulking 
fit.  The  more  he  is  kept  moving  the 
sooner  he  will  tire.  It  is  well  to  keep  him 
in  hand  with  as  heavy  a  strain  as  can  be 
risked  ;  for  he  fights  to  the  last,  and  there 
is  no  knowing  what  he  may  do.  Even 
when  he  comes  to  the  surface  and  shows 
his  white  side,  the  sight  of  the  landing-net 
nerves  him  to  what  the  pugilists  call  a 
"game  finish."  Three-quarters  of  an  hour 
have  gone,  when  Narcisse  slips  the  net 
under  him  with  a  quick  but  sure  scoop, 
and  kills  him  with  a  blow  from  the  paddle. 
"  C'est  serieusement  grosse,"  he  says,  as  he 
holds  up  a  twenty-five-inch  fish.  Really 
the  balance  does  seem  wrong  when  it 
marks  only  five  pounds. 

After  a  couple  of  hours'  cruising  about 
the  eddy,  with  more  or  less  luck,  we  go 
above  the  point,  making  our  way  with 

65 


The  Land  of  the  Witwnishe 

some  difficulty  through  the  tangle  of  rocks 
and  trees,  though  the  men,  canoe  on  head 
and  both  hands  full,  skip  along  easily 
enough.  There  we  find  a  little  family 
party  of  winanishe  close  under  the  bank 
in  a  hole  beneath  some  alder-roots,  which 
would  exactly  suit  a  trout's  idea  of  a  home. 
Farther  up  we  get  some  pretty  casting  off 
a  rocky  bank,  past  which  a  strong  up-eddy 
runs.  Later  on,  when  the  water  has  fallen 
and  new  eddies  form  immediately  above 
the  point,  there  will  be  good  fishing,  either 
off  the  rocks  or  in  the  canoe,  which  the 
men  will  hold  in  the  very  dividing-line  be- 
tween the  main  current  over  the  fall  and 
that  which  sets  inshore. 

At  luncheon,  which  is  not  a  feast  of 
obligation  at  the  lodge,  a  winanishe  a  la 
troche  gives  us  a  chance  to  test  the  men's 
cookery.  The  fish,  split  down  the  back 
and  opened  out  like  a  kite,  is  skewered 
with  slips  of  red  willow,  well  salted  and 
peppered,  inserted  in  a  cleft  stick  fastened 
with  spruce-root  or  a  withe  of  alder,  and 
then,  stuck  in  the  ground  before  a  clear 
fire  of  driftwood,  is  broiled  without  any 
basting  but  its  own  fat.  If  you  prefer  the 
flavor,  you  may  skewer  a  piece  of  bacon  to 
the  upper  part  of  the  fish.  The  delicate 
pink  flesh  is  intermediate  in  flavor  between 

66 


Ttie  Land  of  the  Winanishe 


that  of  the  salmon  and 
that  of  the  trout;  richer 
than  the  latter,  less  cloy- 
ing    than    the     former. 
Planked 
shad     is 
not     bet- 
ter. After 
luncheon 


the  pipe  and  a 
chat,  with  a  bou- 
cane  to-  keep  the 
flies  off;  the  logs 
charing  and  grind- 
ing against  the  shore  suggest  to  the  men 
some  reminiscences  of  la  drive  and  its 
perils.  The  artist  gets  a  sketch,  for 
which  Willyam  poses.  For  another  mile 
above,  the  rapid  foams  white.  That  hill, 

67 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

covered  with  dark  spruces,  which  divides 
it,  is  the  point  of  He  Maligne  ;  well 
named,  for,  surrounded  by  heavy  rapids 
pulsating  in  chutes  through  rocky  gorges, 
it  is  rarely  accessible,  sometimes  not  for 
several  successive  years. 

In  the  evening  we  fly  down  in  ten  min- 
utes what  it  took  us  over  an  hour  to  mount. 
The  roar  of  the  Vache  Caille  swells  like 
the  sound  of  an  approaching  train.  The 
bowman  stands  up  to  look,  says  a  word 
to  his  mate,  then  both  settle  low  on  their 
heels,  and  two  bits  of  rapid  are  run  like  a 
flash,  though  the  trees  slipping  past  are  the 
only  sign  of  motion  the  passenger  feels. 
With  the  current  setting  out  straight  over 
the  fall,  it  is  an  ugly-looking  place,  but  "  a 
terre,  en  masse ;  "  and  a  bit  of  quick  pad- 
dling brings  the  shore  close.  The  men 
interchange  a  rapid  glance.  "  Au  large  ?  " 
"  Pas  trop."  The  canoe  turns  out  again, 
to  the  horror  of  any  passenger  making  the 
run  for  the  first  time  ;  but,  before  he  can 
remonstrate,  tilts  over  the  pitch  where  a 
pyramidal  rock  backs  up  the  water,  swings 
end  for  end,  and  sidles  into  an  eddy  just  its 
own  length  which  has  scooped  out  a  hol- 
low in  the  bank  within  forty  yards  of  the 
fall.  "  It  is  quite  possible  to  drown  one's 
self  here,"  remarks  Pitre  as  he  takes  his 

68 


The  Land  of  the   //  'inani.Jie 

Monsieur's  rod  and  coat.  It  is  a  point 
of  honor,  however,  with  these  men  never 
to  risk  a  passenger's  comfort,  much  less 
his  safety.  Any  recklessness  or  bungling 
would  meet  sharp  criticism  over  the  camp- 
fire.  They  are  cool  and  courageous  in 
real  danger,  however,  and  among  them- 
selves the  rivalry  is  very  keen.  Nothing 
delights  them  more  than  to  have  a  Mon- 
sieur who  can  appreciate  their  points,  and, 
not  minding  a  few  bucketfuls  of  water, 
gives  them  a  chance  of  display.  After  all, 
the  passenger  has  the  best  of  guaranties  in 
the  fact  that  very  few  of  them  can  swim.* 
Life  in  a  forest  fishing-lodge  is  much 
the  same  in  one  place  as  in  another,  and 
its  delights  have  been  often  enough  dwelt 
upon.  To  some  its  charm  seems  inexpli- 
cable ;  and  such  it  must  remain  if  they 
forget  that  it  lies  less  in  the  joys  that  are 
present  than  in  the  cares,  the  worries,  and 
the  annoyances  that  are  left  behind.  But 
if  he  has  been  able  for  a  time  to  put  aside 
his  occupations,  and  to  enter  upon  a  well- 
earned  leisure  with  a  free  mind,  the  gray- 
haired  man  gets  from  his  simple  surround- 
ings a  pleasure  that  is  as  unalloyed  as  that 

*  We  s  peak  only  of  the  professional  canoemen  of  the  Decharge. 
Some  of  the  Pointe  Bleue  Indians  are  good  enough  in  the  canoe; 
but  the  railway  has  brought  forward  many  men  without  experience, 
either  of  these  heavy  waters  or  of  the  niceties  of  winanishe-fishing. 

69 


The  Land  of  the  IVinanishe 

of  childhood.  The  boy's  appetite  and  the 
boy's  rest  come  back;  and  as  he  sits  before 
the  fire  made  of  wood  which  the  spring 
torrent  has  piled  up  almost  at  his  door,  the 
simple  jest  or  the  well-worn  tale  has  a  zest 
beyond  all  the  wit  of  the  city  clubs. 

Among  a  score  of  canoemen,  there  is 
pretty  certainly  one  whose  fiddle  can  help 
to  brighten  the  evening.  If  "  les  Mes- 
sieurs" are  too  weary  to  dance,  the  canoe- 
men  have  a  never-failing  reserve  of  agility. 
But  there  is  nothing  frivolous  in  their  dan- 
cing, and  its  mirth  is  a  solemn  joy.  No 
man  in  front  of  battle  ever  wore  a  sterner 
look  than  does  Xavier  as  he  prepares  to 
out-dance  Pitre,  while  the  feet  of  Aunis,  the 
fiddler,  keep  time  with  an  incessant  heel 
and  toe.  After  the  dance,  the  song.  Some 
one  of  the  group  standing  or  sitting  about, 
or,  quite  as  likely,  in  canoeman's  fashion, 
resting  on  one  knee,  starts  an  old  chan- 
son, perhaps  Cecilia  or  En  roulant  ma  boule, 
and  the  rest  take  up  the  refrain. 

But  what  are  these  impromptu  merry- 
makings to  \hzfete  which  is  held  on  the 
national  day  of  Canada  or  of  the  United 
States,  and  to  which  invitation  is  given  after 
mass  to  all  the  parish,  the  poachers  who 
have  been  detected  being  especially  bidden, 
that  they  may  know  that  no  bitterness  is 

70 


The  Land  of  tJie   ll'inanishe 

felt?  And  they  come,  young  and  old,  not 
men  alone,  but  les  creatures  as  well ;  for 
there  will  be  not  only  song  and  dance  by 
special  permission  of  Monsieur  le  Cure,  but 
fireworks  brought  all  the  way  from  "  the 
States"  for  this  occasion.  One  shrewd  in- 
valid comes  in  advance  of  the  rest  with  his 
little  petition ;  for  well  he  knows  that  it  is 
an  occasion  when  the  sternest  Protestant 
or  the  most  matter-of-fact  sceptic  cannot 
refuse  a  "  trente  sous"  toward  the  "pe- 
tite collecte  "  to  help  him  defray  the  ex- 


Foot  of  He  Mcdigne  Portage, 
71 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

penses  of  a  pilgrimage --by  steamer --to 
La  Bonne  Ste.  Anne.  As  the  tobacco  is 
passed,  pipes  are  produced  with  a  unanim- 
ity that  recalls  the  passage  in  Parkman  de- 
scribing the  coureurs  des  bois  who  destroyed 
Schenectady,  every  one  of  whom  had  "  his 
inseparable  pipe  hung  at  his  neck  in  a 
leather  case/'  And  the  dances  !  Every- 
one dances  as  if  his  character  were  at  stake 
and  time  of  no  value.  The  unsuspecting 
Monsieur  who  joins  in  one  of  these  com- 
plicated contra-dances  finds  at  the  end  of 
three-quarters  of  an  hour's  effort  that  there 
are  more  exhausting  pleasures  than  a  hard 
portage.  Story-telling  and  singing  fill  the 
evening  until  with  the  parting  song,  Eon 
soir,  mes  amis,  bon  soir,  the  guests  troop  off 
to  the  canoes,  and  are  safely  carried  to 
the  mainland  across  the  turbulent  Vache 
Caille  Eddy. 

The  Club  waters  below  Alma  Island 
are  similar  in  character  of  fishing  to  the 
Caron.  A  shady  path  through  the  woods 
leads  to  the  pools  on  the  Petite  Decharge; 
but  the  easiest  way  is  round  by  canoe,  and 
then,  disembarking  at  the  foot  of  the 
Carcajou  Rapid,  to  follow  along  the  rocky 
shore  beneath  the  high  clay  bluffs  which 
here  border  the  Petite  Decharge  on  both 
sides.  The  way  leads  alongside  the  rapid 

72 


The  Ltiint  of  the 


Foot  of  Grande  Chute. 


up    to    the 
foot  of  the  timber-slide 
built  by   the    Canadian 
Government,  —  a  sub- 
stantial   trough,    six    feet 
wide  by  four  deep,  sup- 
ported   on    trestles.        It 
looks   like   an    enormous 
caterpillar  following   the 
contour  of   the   hill   in 
sinuous    curves    for    a 
mile  and  a  half  up  to 
the  dam  at   the  head 
of  the  rapid.      When 
the   logs    are    coming 
from   the  boom  at    the 
rate  of  twenty  thousand 
a    day,    it    is    a    pretty 
sight    to    watch     them 

73 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

fly  down  the  sharp  pitch  at  the  lower  end 
of  the  slide,  strike  the  water  with  a  thud 
like  a  cannon-shot,  and  go  jostling  each 
other  down  stream.  A  mass  of  swirling 
logs  circling  round  the  eddies,  racing  down 
the  rapids,  and  spoiling  the  fishing,  is  not, 
however,  a  pretty  sight  for  the  angler. 

The  Carcajou  Pool,  so  called  after  some 
legendary  wolverene,  is  half-way  up  the 
rapid,  just  below  a  considerable  fall.  Fish- 
ing from  the  large  flat  rocks  is  a  pleasant 
change  from  the  canoe  ;  for  one  need  not 
be  an  expert  to  stand  upright,  even  when 
the  waves  come  knee-deep  over  them. 
Sometimes  a  long  cast  is  made  for  a  fish 
rising  far  out,  sometimes  the  fly  is  dropped 
perpendicularly  from  a  high  rock  into  a 
snug  corner  where  the  constantly  recur- 
ring tail  shows  a  winanishe  "  at  home." 
The  fish  here  are  large,  as  a  rule.  If  you 
miss  them,  or  whip  the  pool  too  much 
when  they  are  not  taking  well,  they  soon 
get  to  know  the  line.  Winanishe  thus 
educated  will  rise  in  numbers  all  round 
your  fly,  curiously  inspect  every  new  one 
you  try,  but  refuse  them  all.  Then  is  the 
time  for  leaders  of  the  finest  gut,  and  the 
delicate  hand  which  can  send  a  tiny 
cocked-winged  "  dun  "  floating  down  the 
stream  as  naturally  as  the  genuine  article. 

74 


The  Land  of  Vie  Winanishe 

Then,  too,  is  the  time  when  the  surrepti- 
tious small  boy,  from  St.  Joseph  d'Alma 
opposite,  with  a  fine  fat  stone-fly,  a  plump 
grasshopper,  or  a  juicy  angleworm,  takes 
that  particular  "  grosse  des  grosses  "  for  the 
chance  of  which  you  have  traded  away 
your  turn  at  the  Caron  or  at  the  Remou 
de  Monsieur  Farine,  the  local  rendering  of 
a  Mr.  Flower's  name.  Confirmed  poach- 
ers can  be  spiritually  disciplined  by  the 
Cure ;  but  what  is  to  be  done  to  an  urchin 
who  says,  "  I  comprehend  not  at  all ;  I 
am  deaf  and  dumb  "  ? 

The  slide  when  dry  is  a  convenient 
roadway  to  the  bridge  which  crosses  to 
the  village.  At  the  post-office  the  whole 
stock  of  letters  is  exhibited  that,  besides 
picking  out  your  own,  you,  naturally 
knowing  everybody  in  Canada  or  the 
United  States,  may  advise  as  to  the  de- 
spatch of  other  people's.  A  visit  to  Mon- 
sieur le  Cure  is  always  a  pleasant  interlude. 
"We  are  only  commencing  in  this  par- 
ish," says  the  tall,  good-looking  young 
priest,  by  way  of  apology  for  the  ladder 
which  leads  instead  of  steps  to  the  plat- 
form that  runs  round  the  house,  and  for 
the  absence  of  the  prim  flowerbeds  en- 
closed by  whitewashed  cobblestones  which 
ought  to  adorn  the  presbytery  garden. 

75 


Ike  Land  of  the  H'inanishe 

His  bottes  sauvages,  in  odd  contrast  with 
cassock  and  biretta,  show  that  he  has  just 
come  in  from  a  long  tramp  to  an  outlying 
mission,  the  only  road  to  which  is  by 
canoe  and  portage.  He  is  a  keen  angler, 
and  has  improved  the  opportunity  by 
catching  some  brockets — the  pike  (Esox 
lucius]  —  thus  furnishing  material  as  well 
as  spiritual  sustenance  for  the  struggling 
settlement.  The  interior  of  the  presby- 
tery is  severely  plain ;  but  the  book-shelves 
show  the  scholarly  tastes,  lack  of  time  to 
cultivate  which  is  his  only  complaint. 
After  a  pleasant  chat  we  take  our  leave, 
but  not  till  the  Cure  has  promised  to  try 
and  get  time  for  a  day  at  the  winanishe. 

On  the  way  down  the  road  home  there 
are  many  polite  greetings,  with  lifting  of 
hats  and  "salut,  Messieurs/'  A  peep  into 
the  schoolhouse  turns  the  busy  hum  into 
a  rustle  of  rosy-cheeked,  clean-faced,  tidy 
girls  and  boys  forming  into  line  to  salute 
the  Messieurs  with  courtesies  and  bows. 
As  the  nearest  doctor  is  lifteen  miles  away, 
and  comes  only  once  a  month,  there  is  a 
great  run  on  the  medical  skill  and  patience 
of  a  kind-hearted  guest  of  the  Club.  He 
has  to  deal  not  only  with  the  vertiges  and 
douleurs  of  patients  who  come  from  far 
and  near,  but  with  Nere  Tremblay's  wife's 
76 


The  Land  of  the   W'inanishe 

brother-in-law,  two  parishes  off,  whose 
symptoms  are  described  at  third  hand,  with 
great  emotion,  but  rather  succinctly,  as 
"  a  frightful  pain  all  over  his  body."  He 
becomes  unwittingly  a  worker  of  "  faith 
cures."  After  his  departure  a  quinine 
pill,  guaranteed  to  be  from  his  box,  will 
cure  anything  from  toothache  to  chronic 
rheumatism.  "Ah  !  a  doctor,  sir,  that  ! 
One  of  the  first !  He  knows  all  that !  He 
is  better  than  Panclare  (Painkiller)!  It 
is  I,  I  who  speak,  who  say  that,"  says  old 
Dieudonne  Gaudreau,  who,  being  ninety 
years  old,  knows  everything.  But  what- 
ever doubt  may  rest  on  the  cures,  none 
can  exist  as  to  the  reality  and  severity  of 
the  sufferings  of  these  poor  invalids,  whose 
comforts  are  few,  and  whose  exposures  and 
hardships  are  many. 

Another  pleasant  variation  is  a  visit  to 
the  Grande  Chute,  either  by  canoe  up  the 
Petite  Decharge,  or  by  road,  with  a  tiny 
maiden  in  a  big  sunbonnet  to  bring  back 
the  quatre  roue  from  the  portage  across  the 
head  of  Alma  Island.  The  most  reliable 
fishing  in  the  Grande  Decharge  is  in  the 
coves  and  eddies  for  the  first  mile  and  a 
half  below  and  adjoining  the  rush  of  water 
from  the  Grand  Chute,  which  comes  tear- 
ing down  from  Lake  St.  John  in  foaming 

77 


The  Latuf  of  the   IVinanishe 

breakers  and  seething  whirlpools.  These 
are  all  private  waters,  and  are  for  the  most 
part  controlled  by  Mr.  Griffith  of  Quebec, 
whose  lodge,  a  mile  higher  up,  commands 
a  splendid  view  of  the  outlet  and  of  mag- 
nificent sunsets.  Below  the  Grande  Chute 
the  Grande  Decharge,  widening  out  to  a 
breadth  of  nearly  two  miles,  finds  its  way 
through  beautifully  wooded  islands  by  a 
network  of  channels. 

This  part  of  the  river  is  most  uncertain 
as  to  fishing,  as  there  are  few  permanent 
eddies  suited  to  the  winanishe,  and  it  is 
filled  with  pike.  It  is,  however,  very  pic- 
turesque; and  the  stillness,  broken  only  by 
the  murmur  of  one  of  the  innumerable 
rapids  which  look  small  till  the  canoe  is 
in  them,  is  a  restful  change  from  the  tur- 
moil of  the  Grande  Chute.  Then,  just 
below  Mistook,  the  only  little  settlement 
on  the  shore  opposite  Alma  Island,  come 
the  Cedar  Rapids,  a  sudden  plunge  of  the 
river  over  a  trap  dike  extending  between 
a  chain  of  islands  from  shore  to  shore ; 
then  a  swift  rush  of  the  water  for  a  couple 
of  miles  down  to  the  head  of  He  Maligne. 
Any  one  in  search  of  exciting  canoeing 
will  find  it  in  this  run,  which  ends  in  a 
sharp  turn  into  a  cove  just  above  the  falls. 
A  two-mile  portage,  which  is  simply  a 

78 


The  Land  of  the  ll'innnishe 

scramble  over  and  along  the  face  of  huge 
rocks  piled  on  each  other  and  surmounted 
by  chevaux  de  frise  of  bushes  and  fallen 
timber,  has  to  be  made  before  the  rapid 
is  reached  which  leads  to  the  Caron.  On 
account  of  the  scenery  it  is  worth  all  the 
hard  work  ;  the  gens  de  Mistook  fish  out 
with  bait  any  stray  winanishe  to  be  found 
among  the  rocks. 

From  the  Vache  Caille  to  Chicoutimi 
is  about  twenty-eight  miles  by  the  river, 
and  in  fair  weather  the  descent  is  a  de- 
lightful run,  even  if  the  Gervais  Rapid  be 
in  such  humor  that  the  two-miles  portage 
of  rocks  must  be  made.  A  bright  sun 
shines  upon  us  as  we  leave  the  point  of 
Alma  Island  and  cross  the  eddy  to  a  place 
half  a  mile  or  more  away,  where  it  is  safe 
to  enter  the  lower  end  of  the  Vache  Caille 
Rapid  and  shoot  it.  Here  and  there  we 
halt  for  a  parting  cast  over  pools  that  have 
before  yielded  good  fish,  and  then  pass  on 
to  the  head  of  the  Gervais  to  reconnoitre ; 
for  no  one  can  tell  from  hour  to  hour 
whether  this  fickle  rapid  may  be  run  or 
not.  Now,  fortunately,  it  is  in  an  amiable 
mood,  and  only  twice  does  it  force  us  to 
land  for  a  short  portage.  With  such 
water  under  the  canoe,  miles  are  quickly 
passed,  and  presently  less  turbulent  currents 

79 


The  Land  of  the   U'inanishe 

carry  us  where  the  alert  canoemen  may 
rest  a  while  ;  and,  as  they  gently  paddle, 
the  song  naturally  breaks  out :  - 

"  Canot  d'£corce  qui  vole,  vole, 
Canot  cTecorce  qui  volerait.11 

Here  one  canoe  turns  back  ;  the  other 
goes  on  until  at  La  Dalle  the  Riviere  des 
Aulnets  falls  in  a  pretty  cascade  down  the 
precipitous  bank  of  a  little  cove.  On  its 
farther  side  we  land  ;  for  just  below  is  Le 
Grand  Remou,  into  whose  white  waters 
no  one  willingly  enters.  We  climb  the 
hill  to  the  home  of  the  canoemen,  and 
while  the  women  prepare  us  a  welcome 
meal  the  quatre  roue  and  the  charrette  are 
got  ready;  for  over  the  six-mile  portage 
the  canoe  and  its  burden  can  ride  on  a 
good  road,  beside  which  farmhouses  are 
frequent.  Below  us  lies  the  Great  Eddy ; 
but  the  Decharge  soon  curves  away  from 
us,  while  in  the  distance  on  the  other  bank 
we  see  the  cascades  of  the  Riviere  Au 
Sable,  one  of  the  outlets  of  Lape  Ken- 
ogami.  When  the  sound  of  falling  water 
comes  up  through  the  thick  forest,  we 
alight,  and  take  a  descending  path  through 
a  pretty  evergreen  wood,  and  find  ourselves 
again  at  the  waterside  where  the  River 
Shipshaw  enters.  "  Shipshaw,"  as  Joseph 
80 


T/ie  Lund  of  the   U'inanis/if 

explains,    "  c'est-a-dire,   mauvaise   riviere  ; 
c'est  bien  difficile  d'ascendre." 

Chicoutimi  is  but  six  miles  away  now, 
and  we  are  entering  Les  Terres  Rompues. 
One  rapid  only  lies  before  us,  and  that 
not  a  difficult  one,  although  the  faithful 
Joseph  points  out  the  place  where  "  un 
homme,  une  creature  et  un  enfant  sont 
noyes."  Keeping  toward  the  northern 
bank  we  presently  find  the  gate  in  the 
great  boom  which  bars  the  river,  and  let 
ourselves  through,  and  head  across  for  Chi- 
coutimi, which,  with  her  cathedral,  and 
all  the  pride  of  "  a  city  that  is  set  on  a 
hill,"  looks  patronizingly  down  upon  her 
prosperous  faubourg  of  lumber-mills.  As 
we  cross,  we  are  leaving  behind  us,  on  the 
opposite  bluff,  Ste.  Anne  de  Saguenay,  her 
spire  and  her  roofs  bright  in  the  low-down 
sun.  A  moment's  delay  to  hail  a  passing 
canoe  and  to  give  a  message  to  its  occupant 
-  young,  black-eyed,  and  well-looking, 
but  already  counted  the  most  skilful  of 
Decharge  canoemen  —  and  our  poem  in 
birch-bark  passes  between  lumber-schoon- 
ers and  steam-tugs,  and  our  canoe  journey 
is  done. 

The  rest  of  the  river --if  that  great 
canon  full  of  ebbing  and  flowing  water  can 
be  called  a  river  —  is  known  to  all  who 

Si 


The  Land  of  the  Winanishe 

"journey,"  like  Dr.  Syntax,  "in  search  of 
the  picturesque,"  and  to  many  others  who 
have  seen  it  through  Mr.  Howells's  eyes. 
While  the  boat  stays  at  Tadoussac  it  will 
be  worth  while  to  pass  by  the  life  of  to- 
day, whether  in  the  fisherman's  cabin  or 
the  fashionable  villa,  to  rest  for  a  little  in 
the  old  church,  successor  of  a  still  older 
one,  and  reflect  on  the  heroism  of  those 
Jesuit  fathers  to  whom,  whatever  we  may 
think  of  their  faith  or  their  aims,  we  must 
accord  the  merit  of  a  self-abnegation  which 
has  never  been  surpassed.  And  before  we 
turn  away  from  the  little  altar  we  may 
give  a  thought  to  Father  La  Brosse,  who 
as  he  had  himself  foretold,  closed  a  life  of 
saintly  devotion  while  kneeling  before  it. 
The  legend  runs  that,  tolled  by  angelic 
hands,  the  bells  of  every  mission  he  had 
served  marked  the  moment  of  his  passing 
soul. 


82 


NEPIGON     RIVER 
FISHING 

By  A.  R.  Macdonough 


|RE  we  heirs  of  the  pri- 
mal wanderer,  Cain,  in 
that  recurring  yearning 
for  wildwood  freedom, 
urging  us  at  seasons  to 
break  away  from  clipped  and  formal  rou- 
tine ?  Do  ancient  instincts  of  the  chase, 
wrought  in  the  blood  by  some  shadowy 
forester  among  our  ten  thousand  ancestors, 
chafe  on  the  curb  of  civilization  ?  Even 
the  Roman  poet  —  man  of  the  world  if 
there  ever  was  one  —  wanting  only  a  touch 
of  fisherman's  nature  to  be  completely  hu- 
man and  modern,  rejoices  in  spring  for  the 
kiss  of  southerly  winds,  and  the  launching 
of  the  boats. 

The  world  has  measurably  filled  up  since 
Cain's  time  ;  but  there  are  still  left  some 
spaces  of  open  air  in  which  one  may  es- 
cape a  crowd. 

Canada  is  now  the  goal  for  American 
sportsmen,  as  for  cashiers.  The  Adiron- 

85 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

clacks  are  populous  with  inns.  Tanners 
and  lumbermen  have  swept  the  sheltering 
forests  from  the  shrinking  waters  of  Penn- 
sylvania. The  fountains  leaping  from  the 
Catskills  are  prisoned  in  tame  preserves 
long  before  they  braid  together  the  stately 
Delaware.  A  thousand  miles  eastward, 
where  St.  Lawrence  meets  the  sea,  lie  the 
placid  pools  around  Chaleur  Bay,  and  the 
wild  glens  alive  with  salmon,  furrowing 
the  northern  shore.  A  thousand  miles 
westward,  where  its  sources  spring,  a  tangle 
of  lakelets  and  their  outlets  teems  with 
trout. 

Between  the  Huronian  rock  spine  of 
Canada  and  those  five  unsalted  seas  looped 
in  a  girdle  binding  rather  than  parting  the 
Dominion  and  the  Republic,  as  well  as 
north  of  the  lower  St.  Lawrence,  there 
spreads  a  maze  of  countless  lakes,  each  fed 
from  the  mountains  by  many  streams,  and 
each  pouring  by  one  river  into  the  greater 
waters.  Of  those  distinguished  by  a  name, 
the  chief  ones,  tracing  them  westward,  are 
the  St.  John,  the  Sturgeon,  Simcoe,  Mus- 
koka,  Nipissing,  and  Nepigon.  They  form 
a  series  of  filtering  basins,  catching  the 
highland  drainage,  often  through  chan- 
nels hundreds  of  miles  long,  holding  its 
sediment,  and  delivering  a  clear  flood  to 

86 


River  Fishing 

swell  the  limpid  volume  in  which  they 
lose  themselves. 

Each  of  these  young  rivers  is  washed 
after  it  is  born,  before  it  hurries  to  be  mar- 
ried to  the  greater  one.  Luckily  all  are 
rebaptized,  too,  with  names  more  Christian 
than  those  of  their  sources.  Saguenay,  be- 
fore leaving  Lake  St.  John,  might  call  it- 
self Ouiatchouan  ;  St.  Maurice  runs  away 
from  its  birth-name  of  Nabescoutianel  ; 
Nipissing,  beginning  as  Tamangamingue, 
ends  in  the  French  River  ;  and  Nepigon 
issues  smooth  and  pronounceable  out  of 
a  cradle  woven  by  fifteen  distinct  rivers, 
from  which  an  easy  selection  presents  the 
pleasing  puzzles  of  Kawabatongwa,  Pagit- 
chigano,  Katchangatinawi,  and  Pickitigou- 
ching. 

Urged  by  that  "  zeal  of  propagandism 
and  the  fur-trade,"  which  the  historian 
calls  the  vital  forces  of  New  France,  the 
region  about  Lake  Superior  was  early  pene- 
trated by  both  the  converting  and  the  bar- 
tering nomads,  the  pursuit  of  souls  being 
sometimes  combined  with  that  of  peltries. 
At  the  Sault,  through  which  the  lake  dis- 
charges, the  faith  was  preached  in  1641  to 
two  thousand  assembled  Chippewas ;  and 
this  mission,  as  well  as  another  at  the 
western  end  of  the  lake,  is  spoken  of  by 

8? 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

Marquette  as  being  in  existence  in  1670, 
though  it  was  afterward  abandoned.  The 
religious  establishments  on  this  river,  how- 
ever, are  much  more  recent.  The  mission 
on  Lake  Helen  was  founded  by  the  Jesuit 
Fathers  about  1870,  and  that  on  Lake 
Nepigon  some  fifteen  years  ago  by  the 
Church  of  England. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  its 
predecessor,  the  Northwest  Company,  have 
been  established  in  the  Nepigon  region 
more  than  a  hundred  and  twenty  years. 
Both  the  spiritual  and  the  trafficking  in- 
fluence persist  among  the  present  scattered 
Chippewas.  Order  and  authority  are  rep- 
resented for  them  by  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  while  they  retain  the  traditions 
planted  with  their  missions  by  the  Jesuits. 
There  is  not,  however,  that  utter  subjec- 
tion to  the  priests  that  enslaves  the  poorer 
and  duller  habitants  of  Lower  Canada, 
threatening  an  insoluble  problem  for  us,  if 
the  question  of  its  incorporation  with  the 
Union  ever  becomes  a  living  one. 

It  is  unlikely  that  Nepigon  Lake  will 
always  miss  the  settlement  invited  by  its 
breadths  of  fertile  shore,  its  mountains  of 
ore,  and  its  exhaustless  fisheries.  Already, 
prospecting  approaches  it  ;  and  nothing 
forbids  building  to  it  from  the  Canadian 

88 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 


Camp  on  the  Nepigon. 


Pacific  a  branch  less  than  one-fourth  the 
length  of  the  route  from  Quebec  to  Lake 
St.  John,  and  presenting,  on  a  grade  of 
ten  feet  to  the  mile,  no  graver  difficulties 
than  those  the  main  line  has  grandly  over- 


come. 


Lake  Nepigon  is  two-thirds  as  large  as 
Lake  Ontario,  very  deep  in  parts,  thickly 
sprinkled  with  picturesque  islands,  and 
strangely  irregular  in  outline.  Indented 
by  deep  bays,  it  stretches  southward  a  fringe 
of  long  tentacles,  as  if  feeling  for  a  descent. 

89 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

This  it  touches  in  a  depressed  ridge  of  trap- 
rock  crossing  its  course,  and  over  this  it 
issues  with  a  fall  of  thirty  feet. 

The  cataract  of  Virgin  Falls  is  striking 
for  the  grace  and  flow  of  its  curves,  both 
vertical  and  cross-sweeping ;  for  the  snowy 
dazzle  flashing  out  of  solid  blue,  just  as  it 
leaves  the  lip,  into  a  storm  of  tossing  pearls; 
for  the  mass  of  water  rushing  in  across 
from  the  western  verge,  beating  half  the 
main  flood  aside  ;  and  for  the  lessening 
surges  cresting  the  blended  torrents  as  they 
seethe  away  for  half  a  mile  through  a 
broad  basin  rimmed  with  green,  and  pro- 
portioned in  nature's  nicest  measure  to  the 
height  of  the  fall.  In  this  font  of  fretted 
ivory  and  jewelled  spray,  the  river  Nepi- 
gon  receives  its  baptism. 

From  its  leap  out  of  the  lake  the  river 
runs  nearly  due  south  thirty-two  miles, 
with  a  fall  of  three  hundred  and  thirteen 
feet,  to  Lake  Superior.  It  pours  a  full, 
strong  current  —  in  many  places  sixty  feet 
deep  and  two  hundred  wide  —  clean  up  to 
its  shores,  without  swamp  or  snag  or  drift. 
Roughly  estimated,  one-third  of  its  course 
is  varied  by  lakes,  and  another  third  broken 
by  rapids.  Widening  into  five  great  basins 
and  many  smaller  expanses,  it  forms  a 
chain  of  tarns,  with  long,  linking  reaches 
90 


igon  River  Fishing 

of  inlet  and  outflow.  These  five  daugh- 
ters of  the  wilderness  are  prettily  named 
Blanche,  Emma,  Maria,  Jessie,  and  Helen. 
Tradition  fails  to  tell  precisely  what  ladies 
of  the  lakes  lent  to  these  lakes  of  the  ladies 
their  dainty  distinction. 

Some  of  the  chutes  of  the  Nepigon,  as 
those  that  perpetually  weave  and  tear  to 
pieces  Cameron's  and  Hamilton's  Pools, 
and  the  thundering  outrush  of  Lake  Em- 
ma, are  unapproachable  by  keels  risking 
either  upward  or  downward  progress. 
Others,  like  the  great  rapid  at  Camp 
Minor,  pulsing  convulsed  with  the  last 
water-spasm  of  Virgin  Falls,  a  mile  above 
it,  may  safely  sweep  the  birch  as  it  leaps 
skirting  down  one  edge,  taking  dashes  of 
foam  inboard  ;  but  they  roll  with  a  weight 
and  power  that  bar  return.  Right  through 
the  mighty  sluice,  in  the  middle  of  some 
of  them,  the  canoe  may  drive  at  a  mile 
a  minute  without  dimpling  the  liquid 
mirror,  but  must  creep  back  by  hand-grips 
of  poles  close  to  shore.  At  other  reaches, 
the  river,  just  doubting  whether  it  shall 
burst  into  a  rapid,  courses  bold  and  strong 
in  curling  ripples,  all  on  the  point  of  dash- 
ing into  foam,  four  or  five  feet  deep  across 
its  whole  breadth,  over  an  even  bottom 
of  stones,  more  than  pebbles  and  less  than 

91 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

bowlders,  whirling  the  canoe  smoothly  a 
mile  or  more  on  level  keel. 

The  note  of  the  Nepigon  is  speed  and 
might  and  brightness.  It  is  the  young  St. 
Lawrence  rehearsing  its  majestic  flow,  and 
supreme  Niagara.  Here  "Arethusa  arose 
from  her  couch  of  snows,"  preparing  to 
meet,  hundreds  of  leagues  away,  as  she 
nears  the  sea,  dark  "Alpheus  bold,  from 
his  glacier  cold,"  rushing  to  her  embrace 
through  the  chasm  of  grim  Saguenay. 

To  these  tempting  waters,  anglers  of 
every  grade  and  from  all  regions  throng. 
At  the  Mission,  nestled  in  a  nook  of  green, 
carved  out  among  the  rocks  on  the  lower 
edge  of  Lake  Helen,  parties  of  Indians, 
catching  a  wind  right  aft,  pile  squaws, 
pappooses,  and  numberless  dogs  into  rick- 
ety birches,  to  skim  along  under  a  dirty 
blanket  sail,  pursuing  for  food  the  snaky 
pickerel  and  coarse  Mackinaw  trout  of  the 
lake.  The  young  novice,  too  eager  to  de- 
lay, drops  his  first  fly  and  lifts  his  first  two- 
pound  fish  even  under  the  shadow  of  the 
railway  bridge.  The  expert,  trained  for 
many  years  in  many  waters,  and  epicure 
of  the  best,  his  canoe  trimly  packed  with 
a  month's  supplies  in  rubber  bags  and  light 
boxes,  manned  by  a  steersman  and  a  sturdy 
oarsman,  presses  steadily  on  his  three  days' 
92 


Ntf>igon  River  Fishing 

course  for  the  upper  river.  He  will  over- 
take a  flotilla,  bearing  some  millionnaire 
and  his  household  goods,  feigning  to  rough 
it  with  actually  a  complete  cooking-stove 
and  a  huge  negro  cook  aboard.  Or  at  the 
head  of  a  portage  he  will  come  upon  some 
noisy  breakfasting  party  of  ten  or  twelve 
from  one  of  the  inland  cities,  enlivening 
these  calm  solitudes  with  the  clamor  of 
the  sociable  West.  Camps  dot  the  shore 
ahead  of  him,  and  camps  astern  —  some 
charming  with  the  gay  colors  and  bright 
presence  of  women,  some  loud  and  dirty 
with  pot-hunters  on  a  picnic. 

Why  should  any  one  fancy,  as  so  many 
will,  that  he  may  enter  easily  at  middle 
age  into  the  angler's  full  enjoyment  with- 
out growing  to  his  skill  by  practice,  any 
more  than  he  could  change  untrained  into 
the  ripe  critic  or  painter  ?  Fishing  is  an 
art ;  a  mechanical  one  at  its  lower  extreme, 
with  nets  and  worms,  but  rising  to  the  fin- 
ish of  a  fine  one.  Relish  of  nature  comes 
as  a  fruit  of  cultivated  perceptions.  Art 
and  nature  blend  to  produce  the  angler's 
exquisite  pleasure.  Yet  one  will  step  from 
a  broker's  office  or  a  counter  into  a  tackle- 
shop,  equip  himself  with  the  latest  costly 
devices,  and  hurry  to  the  water,  to  learn 
with  surprise  and  disappointment  that  he 

93 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

has  not  bought  faculty  with  his  fittings. 
The  years  lie  behind  him  wasted  for  this 
purpose,  unless  as  a  boy  he  paddled  in  the 
burns  of  Agawam  or  Sullivan  or  Pike, 
fleshing  his  maiden  hook  in  finer  prey  than 
dace  or  suckers,  with  his  senses  freshly 
open  to  inflowing  waves  of  touch  from 
sound  and  color  and  form. 

A  sketch  of  such  a  personage  is  caught, 
uncaricatured,  from  nature.  His  burly 
body  planted  in  a  real  chair,  two  guides 
steer  him  down,  then  laboriously  row  him 
up,  to  and  fro,  in  the  stiff  current  that 
shoots  through  the  long  reach  below  Pine 
Portage,  abounding  in  fish.  Either  pudgy 
hand  thrusts  out  a  short  pole,  loaded  with 
a  great  glittering  spoon.  Of  the  few  de- 
mented trout  that  strike,  he  clumsily  hauls 
in  three  or  four,  and  over  the  lost  ones  dis- 
charges a  volley  of  abuse  at  the  poor  guides. 
Of  course  he  wonders  how  any  one  can 
like  fishing  ;  and  of  course,  as  his  yacht 
steams  away  to  some  lake  town,  of  which 
he  is  doubtless  a  harmless  citizen  of  credit 
and  renown,  he  swears  that  never  again 
will  he  visit  that  Nepigon ;  and  all  the 
guides  in  chorus  swear  that  never  again, 
with  their  aid  or  service,  shall  he. 

The  presence  of  such  pseudo-sportsmen 
proves  that  access  to  these  solitudes  has 

94 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 


been  made  of  late 
years  too  easy.  But 
taking  the  good  with 
the  evil,  we  follow 
the  too-much  beaten 
track  for  a  thousand 

miles,  either  directly  westward  from  Mon- 
treal, or  by  noble  steamers  worthy  to  tra- 
verse Lake  Superior,  as  far  as  Port  Arthur, 
and  then  eastward  a  hundred  miles  by  rail. 
A  little  after  noon,  trains  both  eastward 
and  westward  on  the  Canadian  Pacific  ap- 

95 


Nefiigon  River  Fishing 

proach  the  picturesque  mass  of  Red  Rock, 
the  headland  of  a  sandstone  range  skirt- 
ing Lake  Superior,  marking  the  mouth 
of  Nepigon  River.  An  old  post  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  is  here.  That 
company's  discretion  must  be  praised,  if 
any  among  the  picked  men  it  employs 
surpass  its  present  agent  at  Red  Rock  in 
shrewdness,  tact,  and  courtesy.  His  atten- 
tion, directed  by  correspondence  that  can 
hardly  be  opened  too  early  in  the  season, 
will  have  prepared  everything  as  to  guides 
and  their  provisions ;  and  the  canoe  will 
wait,  already  loaded,  for  the  voyageur  to 
step  into  it. 

Guides  are  usually  to  be  had  in  plenty, 
and  of  great  variety.  It  is  safer  to  engage 
good  ones  beforehand,  rather  than  run  the 
risk  in  July  or  early  August  of  finding  that 
they  are  all  up  the  river,  and  waiting  a 
couple  of  days  for  a  returning  party.  At 
that  season  there  are  often  thirty  anglers 
at  once,  scattered  in  camps  along  the 
stream,  each  pair  of  whom,  if  properly 
equipped,  have  at  least  two  men  to  pilot 
them.  The  calling  has  its  leaders  and 
its  learners.  They  differ  greatly  in  skill, 
endurance,  and  appetite,  and,  above  all,  in 
temper,  as  might  be  expected  from  their 
mingled  strain  of  Scotch,  French,  and  In- 

96 


Nepigoii  River  Fishing 

dian  blood.  The  worst  of  them  are  pure 
Indians,  slothful,  dirty,  sullen,  and  insub- 
ordinate. It  fares  ill  with  the  novice  who 
falls  into  the  hands  of  such  a  pair.  He 
will  be  pulled  lazily  along  in  a  wet  boat, 
portaged  with  exasperating  slowness  and 
long  and  frequent  halts  for  gossip  with 
friends,  or  greedy  forays  on  provisions, 
dumped  into  old  camps  reeking  with  the 
summer's  refuse,  his  tent  pitched  awry, 
the  cooking  nauseous,  unless  he  turns  chef 
himself,  and  his  stores  spoiled  and  wasted. 
Then  these  fellows  have  a  true  talent  for 
sickness.  They  may  give  out  at  any  mo- 
ment, insist  on  being  sent  home  to  die, 
or  lie  groaning  and  guzzling  until  it  suits 
their  humor  to  go  to  work  a  while. 

At  the  other  extreme,  the  best  of  the 
guides  are  like  the  picked  men  of  any 
business  anywhere.  Alert,  cheerful,  ex- 
pert afloat  and  neat  ashore,  they  make 
their  employer's  comfort  a  duty,  and  his 
success  their  pleasure.  They  are  com- 
panionable, too,  with  their  native  shrewd- 
ness, their  original  notions,  and  quick 
sense  for  the  queer  ways  of  the  many 
people  they  have  had  to  do  with.  Each 
of  five  or  six  of  such  men  who  might  be 
named,  and  are  well  known  wherever  the 
river  is  known,  is  as  complete  a  valet  of 
the  woods  as  could  be  desired. 

97 


Nepigon  River  Fishing: 

Certain  natural  landmarks  divide  the 
thirty-two  miles  of  the  river's  flow  into 
three  stretches.  Alexander  Bay,  about 
ten  miles  up,  limits  the  first,  and  in  and 
about  it  the  fishing  is  so  fine  that  many 
visitors  do  not  care  to  ascend  farther. 
The  upper  end  of  Pine  Portage  marks 
about  the  close  of  a  second  stage  in  the 
course,  the  ten  or  twelve  miles  below  it 
containing  some  of  the  choicest  pools  and 
reaches,  and  detaining  most  of  the  anglers 
who  visit  the  river.  Between  this  point 
and  the  Falls,  large  fish  have  their  haunts, 
and  the  rocky  walls  and  blue  waters  reach 
their  height  of  blended  beauty  and  wild- 
ness.  The  loss  of  five  days  spent  in  as- 
cending and  running  down  the  full  length 
of  the  river  is  well  repaid  by  the  compar- 
.ative  solitude  gained. 

The  afternoon's  voyage  only  clears  the 
fringe  of  Indian  settlement,  skirting  the 
river  for  some  miles.  Passing  beneath 
the  fine  railroad  bridge,  built  on  the 
American  side,  and  shipped  in  sections  to 
be  put  up  here,  the  course  turns  into  Lake 
Helen,  bending  to  its  eastward  shore, 
where,  under  the  shadow  of  the  Mission 
church,  lies  a  village  of  huts.  If  tenting 
here  for  the  night  is  once  tried,  it  will 
not  be  repeated  until  visiting  friends  and 
98 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

howling  dogs  are  forgotten.  The  final 
cause  of  these  sneaking  and  yelping  packs, 
all  shabbily  alike,  can  only  be  guessed 
when  the  deep  snows  of  this  region  make 
their  life  a  burden  in  the  work  of  sledg- 
ing. It  is  wiser  to  stop  long  enough  to 
cut  a  stiff  birch  mast,  and  then  to  cross 
the  lake  under  the  evening  breeze  to 
the  mouth  of  the  river,  entering  through 
fields  of  rushes.  It  is  here  over  one  hun- 
dred yards  across,  running  deep  and  strong, 
but  smooth.  Natives  are  fishing  or  smok- 
ing in  wigwams  along  the  flat  banks.  At 
some  places  Lake  Superior  fishing-boats 
are  tied  up.  They  are  both  stanch  and 
trim,  a  cross  between  a  whale-boat  and 
pilot  craft,  two-masted  and  half-decked, 
with  a  centre-board,  three  to  eight  tons 
in  burden,  and  used  for  deep-water  fishing 
in  the  great  lake.  At  the  better  shanties, 
now  and  then  built  on  some  cleared  half- 
acre  yielding  a  handful  of  potatoes  or  hay, 
the  canoe  turns  in  with  an  inquiry  for 
eggs,  the  Indian  name  of  them  sound- 
ing precisely  like  the  ancient  o>6y  of  the 
Greeks.  The  almost  certain  answer  is 
that  the  dogs  have  eaten  the  fowls.  Dis- 
pensing then  with  the  "  omne  vivum  ab 
ovo,"  we  make  supper  without  them, 
pitching  the  tent  among  the  hay,  both 


101 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

bed  and  board  being  managed  in  a  very 
improvised  fashion  while  en  route.  Next 
day,  after  a  couple  of  hours'  ascent  against 
a  strengthening  current,  a  long  line  of 
white-caps  racing  across  the  broadened 
river  defines  the  upper  edge  of  Alexander 
Bay,  where  we  first  take  the  shore  for  a 
portage. 

There  are  but  two  portages  of  any 
length  along  the  course  of  the  river,  one 
the  Long  Portage,  a  path  leaving  the 
stream  below  its  majestic  curve,  as  it 
rounds  with  a  tumbling  torrent  into  this 
bay,  and  bending  away  westward,  reced- 
ing from  the  almost  inaccessible  depths 
that  feed  and  frame  Cameron's  Pool,  till 
it  drops  to  the  outlet  of  Lake  Jessie.  Its 
easy  walk  of  about  three  miles  is  divided 
by  a  brook,  the  only  tributary  to  the  river, 
shortening  the  return  portage  by  so  much 
of  waterway. 

Above  this,  and  again  about  the  dis- 
tance of  one-third  the  length  of  the  river, 
Pine  Portage  sweeps  back  westward  over 
a  rather  more  rough  and  wooded  track  of 
a  mile,  quitting  the  bank  by  a  steep,  grassy 
slope  at  the  great  rapids  roaring  out  of 
Hamilton's  Pool  outlet,  and  regaining  it 
not  far  below  the  outlet  of  Lake  Emma. 
Between  these  occur  short  carries,  one 


Nepgion  River  Fishing 


Centre  Falls. 


avoiding  the  swift  broken  water  racing 
around  the  base  of  Split  Rock,  and  one 
across  an  islet  circled  by  two  cascades. 
Every  carry,  however  short,  requires  the 
complete  unloading  of  the  birch  to  her 
very  ribs,  and  careful  restowing  when 
she  takes  the  water  again.  The  canoe, 
too  great  a  burden  for  one  man  to  poise 
inverted  on  his  head,  as  they  portage  the 
lighter  ones,  is  steadied  on  the  shoulders 

103 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

of  both  guides,  who  trot  away  under  it 
among  the  rough  stones  with  a  sure  and 
quick  step.  All  this  work  they  do  with 
surprising  care  and  patience  and  expedition. 
These  portages  are  the  social  exchanges 
of  the  river.  If  no  one  there  meets  the 
voyager,  scraps  of  newspaper  or  marks 
on  wrappers  disclose  what  natives  of  what 
town  lately  crossed  the  trail.  More  often 
occupied  by  flying  camps  at  either  end, 
and  always  convenient  baiting-points  after 
the  toil  of  reaching  them,  the  guides  here 
meet  their  friends,  and  the  angler  makes 
acquaintances.  New-comers  produce  the 
mails  and  latest  papers  for  those  who  care 
for  them ;  descending  parties  bring  notes  of 
the  sport  promised  or  failing.  Fly-books 
are  compared,  scores  sometimes  confided, 
cocktails,  cigars,  and  addresses  exchanged, 
and  after  an  hour's  joint  lunch  each  goes 
on  his  way,  wishing  the  other  good-speed. 
The  guides,  all  mutually  well  known,  bear 
each  other's  burdens,  helping  good-na- 
turedly in  portaging,  sharing  generously 
their  provisions,  and  their  masters',  and 
lingering  a  great  deal  more  sociably  than 
is  sometimes  convenient  for  the  latter. 
Often  a  flotilla  debarks,  bound  to  or  from 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Nepigon 
House  on  the  Lake.  Their  trim  canoes, 

104 


River  Fishing 

neat  men,  heaped  provision-sacks,  with 
groups  of  squaws  and  beady-eyed  children, 
give  the  place  an  air  of  settlement  and  dis- 
cipline. The  next  hour  all  has  vanished 
with  the  beat  of  oars  dying  away  beyond 
the  bend  below. 

As  these  trails  have  been  trodden  for  at 
least  a  hundred  years,  their  condition  is 
singular  in  two  ways, —  that  it  is  no  worse 
and  no  better.  Long  stretches  of  portage 
are  level ;  and  on  these  it  would  be  easy  to 
lay  and  keep  in  order  rough  tramways  of 
timber,  over  which  trolleys  with  burdens 
might  be  rolled  with  less  labor  than  car- 
ries now  exact.  In  winter  the  snow  gives 
a  smooth  track  ;  and  it  may  be  that  sum- 
mer is  too  short  to  make  it  worth  while, 
or  that  the  natives  are  waiting  for  a  branch- 
line  up  the  valley. 

The  time  used  in  crossing  Long  Port- 
age, with  its  double  transshipment,  will  not 
reasonably  be  less  than  six  or  seven  hours 
under  fair-weather  conditions.  But  into 
each  life  some  rain  must  fall,  rather  more 
on  the  Nepigon  than  at  home.  When, 
under  a  thunderstorm  breaking  over  the 
trail,  the  bushes  drip,  and  the  stones  slip, 
and  all  the  guides'  care  can  hardly  save 
the  sacks  dry,  it  may  be  a  day's  work  to 
reach  the  grassy  slope  at  its  upper  end. 

105 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

Then,  after  a  drenching  like  a  water-cure, 
comes  at  night  a  wet  camp  and  a  sitzbath. 
Then  one  knows  how  much  more  beauti- 
ful sunshine  is  in  the  wilderness  than  in 
the  town.  If  it  is  fair,  after  a  leisurely 
dinner  the  boat  can  be  easily  pushed  on 
a  mile  or  two  farther,  and  hauled  up  at 
nightfall  on  one  of  the  islets  just  inside 
Lake  Jessie  for  a  clean  camping-spot  need- 
ing no  clearing. 

The  third  day  begins  with  a  stiff  bit 
of  poling  through  Bashewana  Rapids,  the 
belt  joining  Lake  Jessie  with  her  upper 
sister,  Lake  Maria.  This  water  is  well 
tilled  with  fish,  though  seldom  over  three 
pounds,  and  having  the  peculiarity  of  very 
yellow  flesh.  Rounded  knobs  of  reddish 
granite  here  meet  the  river,  covered  with 
dense  berry-bushes  and  debris  of  burnt 
forest.  Square  blocks  of  basalt,  the  steep 
talus  splintered  by  frost  from  lofty  walls, 
again  edge  the  river  above,  where  it  rolls 
wedged  between  the  cliffs  of  Split  Rock. 
It  comes  down  to  this  pass  by  a  double 
leap,  a  mile  above,  through  two  channels 
of  dashing  cascades,  prisoning  between 
them  a  narrow  ledge,  giving  safe  foothold 
for  climbing  from  the  eddy  below  to  the 
eddy  above. 

The  hard  work  of  three  carries,  includ- 

106 


Nfpigon  River  Fishing 

ing  the  laborious  Pine  Portage,  brings  the 
day  well  on  ;  and  after  an  upward  mile  or 
so  of  smooth  but  strong  water,  the  guides 
gladly  land  for  the  night  at  the  broad,  flat 
rocks  on  the  lower  edge  of  the  Great 
White  Chute.  Here  the  most  picturesque 
rapid  on  the  river  forms,  by  the  drop  at 
a  right  angle  of  Lake  Emma  over  a  low 
but  rugged  trap  ridge.  The  water  bounds 
in  great  billows  straight  across  the  river, 
striking  square  at  a  cliff  on  the  east  shore, 
and  shooting  a  powerful  recoiling  current 
both  upward  and  downward.  Two  or 
three  great  fish,  but  not  more,  may  be 
taken  at  night  and  morning,  leaping  out 
of  the  boiling  white  among  the  blocks  in 
the  corners,  where  the  surges  bear  away 
from  the  shore. 

There  is  no  need  of  battling  for  the  last 
half-day  against  the  mighty  sweep  of  the 
shallowing  river  over  broad  Victoria  Rap- 
ids, when  a  chain  of  side  waters  with  a 
little  easy  land  transit  leads  up  to  Camp 
Minor,  within  sight  of  the  Great  Falls. 
This  point  commands  a  number  of  smaller 
pools  and  quick  runs ;  and  as  it  is  within 
easy  reach  too  of  the  Falls,  no  better  place 
can  be  chosen  for  a  permanent  camp. 
Here  the  quality  of  guides  is  put  to  the 
test.  The  lazy  one  pitches  wherever  he 

107 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

finds  a  space  cleared,  however  dirty.  Our 
faithful  workers,  after  careful  inspection, 
pick  out  some  point,  dry,  shelving,  but  not 
steep,  well  shaded,  and  as  free  from  rocks 
as  this  stony  region  affords  —  with  an  easy 
landing-place,  and  a  bit  of  gravel  or  stone 
basin  for  the  bath.  A  few  trees  are  felled, 
none  being  more  than  a  foot  through, 
stumps  left  or  stakes  driven  for  due  order 
of  tent-ropes  and  bedposts,  and  the  canvas 
house  set  firm  and  square  as  a  home  for  a 
fortnight.  The  next  duty  is  to  give  the 
canoes  a  thorough  overhauling,  after  the 
strain  of  their  amphibious  journey. 

The  canoes  used  on  the  Nepigon  are  a 
larger  variety  of  the  fairy  craft  paddled  by 
the  Micmacs  and  Montaignais  of  the  lower 
river.  They  are  nearly  double  the  size  of 
the  latter,  the  largest  being  over  thirty- 
five  feet  long  and  five  feet  wide,  deeper 
and  more  heavily  ribbed,  showing  the 
contrast  between  a  pleasure  carriage  and  a 
burden  wagon.  Like  an  evolution  from 
the  lonely  voyageurs  skiff  into  a  vessel  for 
trade  and  war,  each  carried,  two  centuries 
ago,  a  score  of  scalping  Hurons,  and  can 
to-day  float  three  tons  of  fur-packs  or  pro- 
visions. Naval  estimates  at  the  Post  fix 
their  cost  at  from  seventy-five  to  a  hun- 
dred and  twenty  dollars,  the  bark  used  in 

108 


Ncfigon  Rircr  Fishing 


Big  Canoe  Landing. 


building  com- 

ing    frOm     the 

Ottawa  or  Sa- 

guenay  country,  as  the  birches  in  this  re- 
gion are  all  small.  The  river  is  too  deep 
for  much  use  of  setting-poles,  and  its  long 
lake  spaces  are  oftener  crossed  with  the 
monotonous  sweep  of  oars  than  by  the 
deft  and  graceful  impulse  of  the  paddle. 
With  a  birch-pole  jury-mast  and  impro- 
vised rigging  they  can  carry  canvas  enough 
under  a  following  or  quartering  breeze  to 
109 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

make  slow  way  against  the  current.  Their 
weight  —  from  three  to  four  hundred 
pounds --makes  them  harder  to  handle 
in  swift  water  than  the  shells  of  the  lower 
river ;  and  the  guides  are  therefore  shy  of 
nearing  the  heads  of  the  heavier  rapids, 
where  the  finest  fish  often  lie.  There, 
while  they  hold  in  an  eddy,  the  angler 
can  step  into  the  rushing  shallows  along 
the  shore,  wading  as  far  as  he  may  venture, 
not  over  ankle-deep,  for  a  long  cast  into 
the  whirling  foam.  As  to  bringing  in  a 
great  fish  against  that  tearing  torrent,  he 
must  reckon  oftener  on  losing  than  land- 
ing him. 

Besides  being  a  shipwright,  a  good 
guide  with  his  axe  and  a  pound  of  nails 
makes  a  fair  cabinet-maker  for  the  woods. 
Abundant  birch  supplies  the  material  out 
of  which  he  builds  along  one  side  of  the 
tent  a  bedstead,  lifting  its  stretched  sacking 
out  of  damp  on  stout  crotches,  and  along 
the  other  a  double  shelf,  shaped  of  light 
poles  resting  on  forked  stumps,  useful  to 
air  the  clothes  and  stores  ;  while  outside, 
where  boughs  overhang  the  bank,  stand 
the  table  and  chair  of  logs.  Spruce  sprays 
enough  are  plucked  to  carpet  every  nook 
of  the  tent,  elastic  under  a  rubber  sheet. 

The  furnishing  finished,  an  hour  or  two 


1 10 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 


remain  for  catching  and  cooking  dinner. 
Some  boat's-lengths  above  camp  the  eddy 
under  a  rock  between  two  little  rapids 


Great  Falls. 


shooting  away  from  the  main  stream,  has 
always  given  up  after  a  few  casts  a  three- 
and-a-half-pound  fish.  Four  or  five  more, 
none  under  two  pounds,  suffice  for  the 
table  to-night  and  a  supply  for  breakfast, 
plumped  into  the  water-pen  built  of  great 
stones.  An  ember  from  the  light  kitchen 
fire  —  in  August  a  blaze  is  seldom  needed 
here  for  warmth  —  kindles  the  after-din- 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

ner  pipe  for  comfort,  and  then  a  cigar  for 
luxury.  As  the  stars  come  out,  the  hours 
bring  cooler  air,  hinting  at  a  change  to 
thick  nightdress  and  blankets.  One  of 
the  charms  of  this  woods-life  is  its  simple 
carelessness  as  to  costume.  We  delight 
in  remembering  the  sub-curse,  omitted  in 
Eden,  but  muttered  surely  by  every  man 
since,  upon  Eve,  for  inventing  or  occasion- 
ing clothes.  A  trifle  of  boucane  under  the 
tent  may  be  advisable  against  the  first 
night's  flies  —  and  then  the  sleep  of  the 
just  for  the  tired,  lulled  by  flowing  waters. 

There  are  two  kinds  of  flies  on  the  Nepi- 
gon,—  those  that  the  angler  uses  and  those 
that  use  him.  The  latter  enjoy  vaseline, 
suspect  pennyroyal,  and  hate  tar,  but  only 
retire  baffled  from  veils  and  gloves.  At 
morning  they  spread  in  a  gray  mist  that 
gives  the  look  to  distant  bays  of  reedy 
marshes.  At  evening  their  clusters  hang 
in  smoke-like  clouds  above  the  tips  of 
pointed  trees.  They  are  always  feeding, 
assisted  by  swarms  of  common  houseflies. 

Of  the  other  kind  of  flies,  the  whitefish, 
very  delicately,  standing  on  his  tail,  asks 
for  a  small  dark  one.  Trout  are  omnivor- 
ous, with  less  preference  for  red.  A  fly 
usually  more  welcome  than  others  to  the 
Nepigon  trout,  composed  on  the  river  after 


112 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

several  years'  experiments,  till  now  un- 
named, and  that  might  be  called  the  Nepi- 
gon,  is  built  after  this  fashion:  On  a  thick 
body  of  light  blue,  well  tinselled,  or  pea- 
cock's herl,  it  wears  wings  of  English 
blue-jay,  mixed  with  orange  from  cock-of- 
the-rock,  and  a  hackle  dyed  by  picric  acid 
to  clear  permanent  yellow.  The  blending 
produces  green  -  -  yet  a  pure  green  fly  is 
less  successful.  This  fly  has  taken  braces 
of  six  and  three  and  a  half  pounds,  and  four 
and  a  half  and  three  —  the  latter  being 
cleverly  scooped  by  the  guide  both  at  one 
sweep  with  two  landing-nets  that  chanced 
to  be  aboard.  The  maker  of  his  own  flies 
needs  to  bring  but  few,  with  the  material 
which  he  finds  ample  leisure  to  work  up. 

As  to  the  relative  merits  of  fly-fishing 
and  bait-fishing,  it  may  be  fairly  concluded 
—  spurning  always  the  spoon,  for  it  is  as 
barbarous  to  kill  a  trout  so,  as  to  eat  him 
with  one  —  that  some  people  prefer  poetry 
and  some  prose.  To  read  anything,  or  to 
fish  at  all,  is  better  than  doing  without 
either. 

The  fish  of  the  Nepigon  are  not  less 
various  than  abundant.  To  one  using  a 
minnow,  the  pike  becomes  a  nuisance. 
Now  and  then  in  deep,  still  waters  a  stur- 
geon pokes  up  a  foot  or  two  of  straight 

J'3 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

black  snout,  looking  like  a  fence-post,  and 
sinks  slowly  back.  Whitefish  give  a  pleas- 
ant change  to  the  menu.  They  frequent 
quiet  bays  or  bends,  where  bubbles  mark 
the  haunt  of  their  sporting-schools,  and 
require  careful  handling.  The  Macki- 
naw, or  lake  trout,  are  coarse  and  heavy. 
Tempted  only  by  glaring  flies  out  of  their 
lurking-places  in  swiftest  water,  they  waste 
time  and  strain  tackle  till  the  angler  is  more 
vexed  than  pleased  with  his  victim.  For 
many  sportsmen  there  is  the  like  objection 
to  fishing  in  Hamilton's  Pool  or  Victoria 
Rapids,  two  points  usually  greatly  favored. 
In  the  first,  there  rages  a  tumult  of  tor- 
rents, interrupted  by  occasional  eruptions 
into  the  air  of  pebbles,  fish,  and  foam.  In 
the  other,  a  vehement  lashing  swell  lends 
to  a  two-pound  trout  the  pretence  of  thrice 
his  weight.  And  in  neither  haunt  are  large 
fish  oftener  taken  than  in  the  quieter  up- 
stream pools. 

Of  such  pools  fairly  a  dozen  are  within 
ten  minutes'  pull  from  the  home  camp. 
At  the  head  of  rapids,  large  or  small  ;  on 
either  smooth  side,  just  before  the  break  ; 
in  eddies  refluent  along  their  torrent  ;  at 
the  tail  where  the  displaced  water  rushes 
back  upward  past  both  banks  ;  upon  the 
reef  usually  formed  beyond  ^the  foot,  and 
114 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

along  the  shores  below,  where  the  river 
regains  quiet  among  rocks  in  six  or  eight 
feet  depth  ;  in  some  or  all  of  such  places, 
and  at  some  or  all  times,  fish  are  to  be 
found.  Passing  from  one  to  another  of 
these,  two  or  three  hours'  leisurely  fishing 
a  day,  will  yield,  after  rejecting  all  under 
two  pounds,  an  ample  supply  for  the  three 
tenants  of  the  camp. 

What  to  do  with  the  hours  not  given 
to  fishing  ?  Sometimes  the  weather  solves, 
or  dissolves,  that  question,  in  an  all-day 
downpour.  All  night  the  lightning  may 
glare  doubly  intense  through  the  white 
canvas,  while  the  wakeful  inmate  specu- 
lates, under  the  roaring  gale,  which  way 
the  ridgepole  may  fall.  Nepigon  answers 
to  Superior,  and  Superior  re-echoes  in  roll- 
ing thunder  and  black  drifts  of  fog.  Such 
enforced  leisure  may  be  given  to  making 
flies,  or  to  reading  the  novels,  of  which 
the  expert  has  been  careful  to  bring  a  stock 
of  the  best,  ranging  from  Shorthouse  to 
Guy  de  Maupassant.  No  newspapers  - 
for  one  constant  pleasure  of  the  wilderness 
is  the  sense  that  the  mind  is  purged  from 
the  miasma  of  the  morning  journal. 

In  brighter  days  there  may  be,  for  those 
whose  taste  inclines  that  way,  the  resources 
of  photography  or  sketching.  Yet,  while 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

these  white  and  whirling  expanses  baffle 
the  camera,  the  general  tone  of  color  disap- 
points the  painter.     The  rocks  gleam  with 
the  cold  dead  gray  of  basalt,  only  sparsely 
mottled  by  lichens,  with  rare  breaks  where 
reddish-white  granite  shows  a  pale  change. 
They  are  little  relieved  by  the  trees,  partly 
sombre  spruce,  but  principally  dense  cur- 
tains of  spindling  birch,  chalky  white  in 
bark,  and  with  whitish-green  thin  foliage, 
accented  here  and  there  by  a  pallid  group 
of  poplars.     Willows  are  rare,  even  if  they 
wore  any  solid  coloring  in  their  feathery 
fulness.       Now  and  then  a  swift  breeze, 
lifting  the  under-surface  of  these  leafy  hill- 
side masses,  strikes  a  sudden  note  of  ashen 
gray,   like  a  discord,   into    the  landscape. 
If  he  turns  to  the  water,  it  offers  still  less  to 
invite  the  brush.     It  flashes  a  tint  of  steely 
blue,  shot  with  foamy  streaks  and  sparkles; 
and  even  where  in  quiet  deeps  it  wins  a 
hue  of  turquoise  green,  there  always  lacks 
the  rich  brown  and  raisin-red  color-gamut 
of  eastern  rivers  flowing  out  of  spruce  for- 
ests.     Momentary  effects  may  be  caught 
among  these  blues  and  grays  —  but  they 
are   bodiless   and    elusive  —  a  fluid   flame 
like  the  molten  beryl  that  slips  over  the  lip 
of  Horseshoe  Fall,  or  the  wavering  gleam 
of  swinging  dulse  under  the  waters  along 

116 


Nej>igon  River  Fishing 


Split  Rock  Carry. 

Florida  coral-reefs  —  or  the  phosphores- 
cent flicker  before  a  storm  that  beacons  the 
rocky  headlands  of  seaward  St.  Lawrence 
under  the  beating  surf. 

Unless  for  the  sake  of  amusing  an  idle 
hour  in  practising  at  a  mark,  it  is  not 
worth  the  sportsman's  while  to  burden  his 
boat  with  a  rifle.  There  is  little  game  or 
bird-life  on  the  river.  From  some  high 
limb  near  camp  may  be  heard  the  staccato 
minor  song  of  the  white-throated  swallow, 
called  by  the  Indians  a  lark  —  alouette  being 
their  general  name  for  all  singing  things. 

117 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

Ducks  seek  the  wild-rice  swamps,  spread- 
ing out  for  leagues  at  a  considerable  dis- 
tance east  and  west  from  the  lake.  The 
guides  delight  in  the  chase  after  a  few 
brace  of  partridges,  knocked  down  with 
sticks,  or  twitched  by  a  pole  and  noose 
out  of  their  stupid  roost  in  the  trees.  A 
covey  once  actually  sauntered  into  the 
tent,  and  was  caught  by  quietly  dropping 
the  flap.  Those  troublesome  vermin,  the 
minks,  are  too  shy  for  a  shot ;  and  the 
guides  always  neglect  trapping  them  until 
after  some  morning  has  found  the  corral- 
pool  empty  of  the  best  reserved  fish. 

Man  may  not  live  by  fish  alone ;  but 
not  until  the  potato,  rice,  and  flour  sacks 
nearly  reach  bottom  are  the  canoes  over- 
hauled with  the  last  touches,  and  pointed 
southward.  Few  care  to  keep  up  with 
the  river's  speed,  drifting  in  two  days 
through  its  rocky  canons  and  placid  lakes. 
There  are  favorite  casts  to  be  repeated, 
pools  neglected  on  the  way  up  that  invite 
trial ;  and  more  than  once  the  tent  is 
pitched  and  folded,  prolonging  the  regret- 
ful farewell. 

Americans  on  either  side  the  border 
concern  themselves  little  about  coming 
generations.  Yet  interest,  if  not  duty, 
should  prompt  them  to  take  some  care 

118 


Nepigon  River  Fishing 

that  this  superb  river  shall  not  lose  its  pre- 
eminence as  the  finest  trouting  water  of 
the  world.  It  is  no  longer,  possible,  as  it 
was  reported  to  be  twenty-five  years  ago, 
to  take  in  one  day  a  barrel  of  trout  aver- 
aging four  pounds,  nor  can  the  angler  now 
quickly  fill  his  basket  within  sight  of  Red 
Rock  Landing.  But  that  the  fish  are 
there,  neither  few  nor  small,  is  certain, 
from  this  record  of  one  rod  for  two  hours 
each  day,  wielded  not  to  make  a  score,  but 
merely  to  supply  the  wants  of  three  men. 

AVERAGE  AVERAGE  NUMBER 

WEIGHT  WEIGHT   OF  TAKE.V    OF   OVER 

EACH    DAY.  WHOLE   CATCH.  THREE   LBS. 

Ibs  Ibs.   oz. 

1886  .       .       .       16  22  22 

1887  ...       II  20  14 

1888  ...     10  24  14 

The  earlier  accounts  describe  the  condi- 
tion of  the  river  when  it  was  fished  only 
by  the  Indians  —  who  do  not  harm  the 
fishing  —  and  rarely  visited  by  casual 
sportsmen.  The  later  record  denotes  its 
productiveness  since  it  has  become  famous 
and  accessible  by  new  railroads.  One  hun- 
dred and  fifty-five  visitors  camped  on  the 
river  last  year,  with  the  usual  proportion 
of  careful  and  accomplished  anglers  to  ig- 
norant or  greedy  fishermen.  The  activity 
of  so  many  enemies,  even  if  they  are  not 
all  Izaak  Waltons,  must  effectively  scatter 

119 


Nepigon  River  fishing 

the  trout  into  remoter  haunts,  and  teach 
them  to  be  shy  wherever  found.  That 
they  should  disappear  from  the  broad  ba- 
sins and  inaccessible  chasms  of  this  grand 
river  is  not  conceivable  ;  nor  that  they  will 
fail  to  be  recruited  from  the  far-reaching 
tributaries  of  the  magnificent  lake  which 
feeds  it.  But  they  must  decrease  in  num- 
ber and  size  unless  some  reasonable  restric- 
tion is  imposed  on  their  pursuers. 

It  was  once  proposed  to  lease  the  river ; 
and  such  a  club  of  one  hundred  members, 
contributing  fifty  dollars  yearly,  as  might 
readily  be  made  up  among  the  complete 
anglers  from  Canada  and  the  States,  who 
frequent  these  waters,  would  protect  the 
fish,  yield  a  revenue  to  the  Government, 
defray  the  cost  of  guardians,  and  profit  the 
country  by  more  than  it  now  gains  from 
outlay  for  guides  and  supplies.  Or,  if 
"  common  of  piscary  "  must  prevail,  the 
authorities  should  at  least  extend  the  range 
of  the  sixth  commandment  to  the  finny 
tribe,  and  severely  punish  the  use  of  all 
cruel  and  unfair  devices  in  their  capture. 
Unless  it  is  cherished,  the  glory  of  the 
Nepigon  may  fade,  and  the  story  of  its 
marvellous  attractions  may  become  a  tra- 
dition of  the  past. 


120 


STRIPED     BASS 
FISHING 

By  A.  Foster  Higgins 


Pasque  Island  Club  House 

F  we  turn  to  our  na- 
tional repertory  of 
knowledge  on  the 
subject,  the  very  ad- 
mirable and  exhaustive 
"  Fisheries  and  Fishery 
Industries  of  the  United 
States/'  we  shall  find  de- 
scribed under  the  title 
of  "Roccus  Lineatus," 
or  the  Striped  Bass,  a  fish 
so  perfectly  familiar  to  all 
who  live  along  the  eastern 
seaboard  that,  for  them,  it  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  dwell  upon  his  special  character- 
istics. For  those  who  have  not  enjoyed 
the  precious  privilege  of  being  born  near 
the  sea,  it  must  be  pointed  out  that  he  is 
not  the  same  fish  that  will  be  found  in 
European  waters,  nor  in  the  Mississippi, 
the  White  River,  Arkansas,  and  in  many 
rivers  of  the  Southern  States.  The  best 

123 


The  Cast. 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

authorities  hold  that  the  Brassy  Bass,  the 
"  Roccus  Interruptus,"  has  probably  been 
there  mistaken  for  the  Striped  Bass.  The 
bass  of  Europe,  the  "  Roccus  Leibrax," 
a  favorite  food  fish,  is  to  be  found  from 
Tromsoe,  Norway,  to  the  Mediterranean, 
and  is  very  closely  related  to  our  "  Rock- 
fish  "  or  "Roccus  Saxatilis"  ("dwelling 
among  rocks");  in  which  class  our  own 
beauty  is  included. 

The  two  species  are  very  similar  in 
form,  although  the  colors  differ,  —  the 
American  being  conspicuously  striped, 
while  that  of  Europe  is  silvery  gray. 
Both  are  strong,  active,  voracious  fishes, 
and  both  ascend  rivers ;  although  the 
American  bass  seem  to  be  much  more 
addicted  to  life  in  fresh  waters  than  their 
transatlantic  relatives,  probably  owing  to 
the  fact  that  our  rivers  are  more  numer- 
ous, larger,  and  more  plentifully  stocked 
with  the  fish  upon  which  the  bass  rely  for 
food.  They  ascend  the  Potomac  to  the 
Little  Falls,  the  Hudson  to  Albany,  the 
Connecticut  to  Hartford,  and  the  Saint 
Lawrence  to  Quebec.  In  the  North 
he  is  known  as  the  "  Striped  Bass ;  "  in 
the  South  as  "  Rockfish,"  or  the  "  Rock." 
Large  sea-going  individuals  are  sometimes 
known  in  New  England  by  the  names 
124 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

of  "  Green-head,"  and  "  Squid-hound. " 
There  is  considerable  uncertainty  regard- 
ing their  southern  limits,  as  they  unques- 
tionably wander  much  beyond  their  usual 
feeding-grounds,  and  have  been  caught 
in  schools  in  Pensacola  Bay,  while  solitary 
specimens  have  been  captured  at  various 
points  in  the  Gulf. 

The  Striped  Bass  are  not  migratory, 
being  found  along  our  coast  in  winter  as 
well  as  summer,  and  in  our  markets  at  all 
times  of  the  year ;  and  one  of  the  most 
potent  causes  of  their  diminution  is  the 
facility  with  which  they  are  taken  under 
the  ice,  by  nets,  spearing,  etc.  They  are 
voracious  feeders,  entering  the  rivers  to 
prey  upon  the  "  fry  "  of  the  shad,  herring, 
and  bluefish  —  and  are  particularly  fond 
of  crabs,  shrimp,  squids,  clams,  and  mus- 
sels, and  even  lobsters,  when  shedding,  or 
of  a  sufficiently  small  size  to  be  conven- 
iently "bolted"  whole.  They  spawn  in 
May  and  June;  and  as  the  number  of  eggs 
cast  has  been  estimated  at  2,248,000  each, 
it  will  be  seen  how  rapid  and  great  a 
growth  is  possible.  Their  increase  in  a 
month  is  i  y2  inch  —  5  months,  4^ 
inches  —  8  months,  6  to  9  inches.  After 
that  from  2  to  6  Ibs.  per  annum.  Their 
average  weight  does  not  exceed  20  Ibs. 

125 


Striped  Bass  fishing 

In  the  Potomac,  Hudson,  and  Connecti- 
cut Rivers  the  largest  seldom  exceeds  30 
to  40  Ibs.  The  Fish  Commission  has  for 
several  years  had  a  standing  offer  of  a  re- 
ward for  a  60  lb.  fish  from  the  Potomac  ; 
but  none  has  as  yet  been  forthcoming. 
The  largest  Striped  Bass  on  record  was  one 
weighing  1 1  2  lb.,  taken  at  Orleans,  Mass. 
They  are  caught  in  large  quantities  by 
seines,  wherever  used,  and  may  be  cap- 
tured by  hook  and  line,  either  in  the  more 
robust  style  of  heaving  and  hauling  in  the 
surf,  or  in  the  most  dilettante  style  of  rod 
and  reel,  and  even  with  the  artificial  fly. 

My  purpose  here  is  to  describe  more 
particularly  that  mode  of  taking  them  by 
rod  and  reel,  adopted  by  the  gentlemen  of 
the  Clubs,  and  other  anglers,  at  Point  Ju- 
dith, Narragansett,  Newport,  West  Island, 
Cuttyhunk,  Pasque  Island,  Squibnocket, 
and  other  places  along  the  coast,  chosen 
for  characteristics  favorable  as  feeding- 
grounds  for  the  Striped  Bass.  These  are, 
first,  an  open  exposure  to  the  ocean  waves 
-  at  least  to  some  degrees  of  the  compass  ; 
and  then,  as  complete  a  fringe  of  seaweed- 
covered  rocks  as  is  possible.  Wherever 
groups  of  such  rocks  or  extensive  reefs  are 
to  be  found,  the  diminutive  forests  of  rock- 
weed  and  the  various  seaweeds  constitute 
126 


Striped  Bass  Fishing: 


The  Horseshoe  at  the  West  Island 
Club,  Near  Newport,  R.I. 


the 

homes  of 
all  the  crusta- 
cea,  the  small  eels, 
the  squid,  and  the 
endless  mass  of  the 
newly  hatched  fry 
of  all  the  fish  which  spawn  in  the  spring. 
Whilst  the  water  is  still  and  clear,  most 
of  these,  at  least,  can  hope  to  escape  their 
enemy;  the  Crustacea,  the  former  class,  by 
flying  to  the  shelter  of  the  overhanging 
rocks,  and  hiding  under  the  dense  thickets 
of  seaweed;  the  latter,  by  rising  suddenly 
to  the  surface  or  diving  to  some  shelter. 
This  will  be  at  once  apparent  to  any  one 
who  sits  near  such  spots  and  quietly  ob- 
serves what  takes  place.  Suddenly,  and 
with  a  rush  that  startles  him,  the  surface 


127 


Striped  Bass  fishing 

of  the  water  for  some  feet  is  agitated 
by  a  mass  of  scintillating  silver  bodies, 
which  disappear  as  quickly  as  they  came 
to  the  surface ;  and  it  is  evident  that 
some  prowling  monster  has  suddenly  ap- 
peared to  their  keen  visions,  and  they  have 
rapidly  ascended  —  so  rapidly  that  the  im- 
petus carries  them  into  the  air,  whence 
they  swiftly  return  to  their  own  element, 
to  dart  shoreward  into  shoal  water,  where 
their  enemy  dare  not  pursue. 

Far  otherwise  is  it  when  the  wind  has 
been  blowing  a  steady  blast  from  the  ocean, 
landward.  Harder  and  still  harder  pound 
the  rising  breakers  on  rocks,  seaweed,  and 
bottom ;  soon  the  succeeding  waves  are 
churned  into  foam,  and  the  clayey  bottom 
is  washed  into  the  undertow,  until  for 
hundreds  of  yards  from  shore  the  water 
becomes  white  and  clouded.  Now  the 
poor  crabs,  shrimps,  lobsters,  eels,  and  all 
crawling  life  are  washed  backward  and 
forward  until  they  surrender  all  attempts 
to  gain  safety  or  shelter,  and  are  soon  at 
the  mercy  of  every  wave.  This  is  the 
long  awaited  opportunity ;  and  now  the 
timid,  nervous,  shrinking  bass  becomes 
bold  and  venturesome,  and  will  follow 
each  wave  into  shallow  places,  with  the 
assurance  that  no  eye  can  see  his  move- 

1*8 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 


By  George  I    I've  got  him." 


ments,  and  that  the 
receding  water  will  carry  him 
out  again  into  safety.  Hence  all  project- 
ing rocks  and  promontories  —  where  one 
can  sit  in  safety,  and  from  which  a  cast 
can  be  made  into  deep  water,  and  where 
the  incoming  surf  may  be  permitted  to 


129 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

roll  under  his  perch  —  are  the  desiderata 
for  bass-fishers. 

One  of  the  most  attractive  spots  in  these 
particulars  —  chosen  for  description  here 
as  typical  of  these  fishing-grounds  —  is 
the  group  of  islands  known  as  the  Eliza- 
beth Islands,  lying  between  the  mainland 
of  Massachusetts  and  Martha's  Vineyard ; 
a  long  succession,  evidently  in  prehistoric 
times  connected  together,  and  forming  a 
continuous  line  from  S.  S.  E.  to  N.  N.  W., 
commencing  with  Cuttyhunk,  and  con- 
tinuing with  Nashewena  and  Pasque,  to 
Naushon  ;  which  brings  us  to  Wood's 
Holl  and  the  main  —  a  stretch  of  say 
seventeen  miles.  North  of  Cuttyhunk  is 
the  little  island  of  Penekese,  where  the 
revered  Agassiz  started  a  school  of  ichthy- 
ology, which  has  been  abandoned  since 
his  death.  Between  these  islands  and  the 
mainland  on  the  north  lie  the  waters  of 
Buzzard's  Bay  ;  and  southward  and  toward 
the  ocean  lie  the  land  of  Martha's  Vine- 
yard and  the  water  of  Martha's  Vineyard 
Sound,  —  the  highway  of  vessels  coming 
from  the  West,  either  outside  of  Long  Isl- 
and or  through  Long  Island  Sound,  and 
bound  for  Boston — which,  at  its  west- 
ern entrance,  is  flanked  on  the  south  by 
beautiful  Gay  Head,  and  on  the  north  by 
Cuttyhunk.  130 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

If  we  visit  one  of  these  resorts,  we  shall 
see  for  ourselves  in  what  consists  the  fas- 
cination which  draws  young  and  old  men, 
yachtsmen,  merchants,  and  bankers,  idlers 
and  busy  men,  wives  and  maidens,  season 
after  season,  from  gayer  and  more  fash- 
ionable places,  to  these  sober,  quiet,  and 
seemingly  unattractive  spots. 

The  home  of  one  such  fishing-club 
is  reached  after  a  run  of  an  hour  and  a 
half  from  New  Bedford ;  and  its  situation 
and  the  routine  of  its  day  are  perhaps  suf- 
ficiently typical  of  all.  The  Club-house 
and  outhouses  stand  prominently  on  a  knoll 
sentinelled  by  a  lofty  flagstaff,  from  which 
flies  gayly  the  Stars  and  Stripes.  The  whis- 
tle of  the  little  steamer  that  brings  visitors 
advises  by  a  series  of  "  toots"  the  number 
of  arriving  passengers,  who  hurry  ashore, 
to  be  welcomed  most  heartily  by  members 
of  the  Club,  ladies  and  children,  to  all  of 
whom  the  arrival  of  the  boat  is  an  "  oc- 
casion," bringing  twice  a  week  letters,  pa- 
pers, and  tidings  of  the  busy  cities.  It  is, 
nevertheless,  with  a  feeling  of  relief  and 
gracious  rest  that  one  waves  adieu  to  the 
little  tug,  as  after  an  hour  she  speeds  her 
way  back,  knowing  that  for  a  period  noth- 
ing is  likely  to  disturb  or  annoy  him  from 
the  outer  world.  The  house  soon  settles 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

down  after  its  departure;  the  ladies  return 
to  their  bright,  pretty  sitting-room,  the 
gentlemen  to  their  papers  or  games  of 
dominoes,  and  the  children  to  their  plays. 
The  visitor  is  ushered  into  his  bedroom, 
which  may  be  either  a  favored  private 
apartment  of  a  member,  or  one  of  the 
Club-rooms.  Of  the  latter,  there  are  a 
dozen  or  more  -  -  all  furnished  alike  with 
simple  cottage  furniture,  corresponding 
with  the  buildings,  which  are  built  en- 
tirely of  Southern  pine,  without  plaster  or 
any  other  finish  than  the  varnished  wood. 
It  seems  at  once  the  business  of  every 
member  to  inquire  as  to  the  stranger's  out- 
fit of  tackle,  etc. ;  and  a  smile  of  delight 
will  be  seen  to  pervade  more  than  one  face 
if  he  avows  himself  totally  unprovided. 
Tenders  of  rods,  reels,  lines,  will  speedily 
be  made,  until  he  is  more  than  amply 
equipped. 

Learning  that  full  tide  is  deemed  most 
favorable,  and  will  serve  about  5  P.M.,  he 
will  put  on  rough  clothes,  as  he  is  sure  to 
be  more  or  less  wet.  A  thoughtful  mem- 
ber comes  in,  bearing  in  his  arms  india- 
rubber  boots  and  a  suit  of  "oilers,"  which 
he  advises  should  be  carried  along,  as  one 
cannot  tell  at  what  moment  they  will  be 
needed.  He  proposes  a  walk  to  the  stand, 
132 


Striped  R<tss  Fishing 


These  loads  of  eager  men. 

which  he  has  drawn  for  the  day,  and 
hands  the  oilers  and  poles  to  an  attendant, 
who,  he  explains,  is  a  "chummer,"  or  one 
who  cuts  up  and  prepares  the  bait.  The 
island  is  very  rugged  in  surface,  rising  into 
considerable  hills  and  dales,  and  is  covered 
with  a  short,  tough  turf,  which  has  a  ten- 

133 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

dency  to  run  into  tufts  and  little  hillocks, 
interspersed  with  quantities  of  field-daisies, 
golden-rod,  purple  Michaelmas  daisies,  and 
other  wild-flowers.  As  the  eye  wanders 
over  the  hills,  huge  travelling  bowlders  are 
seen  ;  and  the  thought  of  glacial  action,  as 
the  creator  of  these  islands,  is  suggested, 
and  the  suggestion  becomes  a  conviction 
as  palpable  moraines  are  seen  stretching 
in  regular  lines  across  the  valleys  and  hills. 
Along  the  cliffs  which  front  the  Sound, 
the  whole  water-front  is  broken  with 
bowlders,  wholly  and  partly  submerged  ; 
and  the  shore  itself  is  so  entirely  a  mass 
of  rocks,  from  the  smallest  size  up  to  a 
number  having  more  than  a  thousand  cu- 
bic feet  of  contents,  that  the  conviction  is 
forced  upon  one  that  these  islands  were, 
so  far  as  we  can  surmise,  formed  by  the 
huge  glaciers  that  Agassiz  tells  us  once 
covered  this  portion  of  our  globe,  and 
which  in  their  steady  march  into  the  ocean 
ploughed  up,  shoved  ahead,  and  deposited, 
as  they  melted,  these  masses  of  land  now 
the  subject  of  man. 

After  proceeding  a  half-mile  from  the 
house  and  turning  onto  the  shore  we  found, 
under  the  shadow  of  a  huge,  square  mass 
of  granite,  half-way  between  the  hill  and 
water,  the  "  chummer  "  busily  arranging 
134 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

his  basket,  laden  with  menhaden  packed 
in  ice.  He  has  a  square  piece  of  board, 
which  he  places  on  a  rock,  around  which 
are  a  mass  of  debris  of  menhaden  bones 
and  heads;  and  catching  up  one  of  these 
fish  from  his  basket,  he  hastily  scales  it, 
and  cuts  off  the  entire  side  close  to  the 
backbone.  An  incision  is  made  length- 
wise through  the  flesh  to  the  skin,  which 
enables  him  to  double  it  together,  skin  to 
skin  and  the  flesh  all  outside,  and  the  bait 
is  ready  —  a  mass  about  four  inches  in 
length  and  weighing  about  two  ounces. 
The  hook,  a  No.  9"°,  is  then  carefully 
attached  to  the  line ;  the  hook  is  furnished 
with  a  round  knob  on  its  upper  end,  and 
tapers  from  the  shank  to  this  knob.  Two 
half-hitches  are  taken  with  the  line  on  this 
taper  below  the  knob ;  then  the  end  of  the 
line  is  used  to  make  a  third  half-hitch  over 
the  first  two ;  the  body  of  the  line  then 
makes  a  fourth  over  the  others,  and  the 
end  being  taken  between  the  teeth  and  the 
line  in  one  hand,  the  hitches  are  drawn 
tight,  whilst  the  hook  is  revolved  by  the 
other  hand,  so  that  when  the  end  is  cut 
off  short,  the  hook  will  revolve  without 
twisting  the  line.  A  good  fisherman  will 
do  this  himself,  and  when  passing  in  his 
rod  to  get  a  new  bait  put  on,  will  always 
135 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

examine  the  line,  to  see  if  it  has  been 
chafed  or  injured,  —  and  if  so,  it  must  be 
cut  off  and  refastened,  —  or  else  he  may 
have  the  pleasure  of  seeing  a  good  fish  lost 
by  his  line  giving  way  at  the  hook  at  a 
critical  moment.  The  "chummer"  stands 
waiting  to  put  on  the  bait.  This  is  a  deli- 
cate matter,  as  the  hook  is  passed  first 
through  the  smaller  portion  of  the  bait, 
then  back  again  from  that  side  entirely 
through. 

It  should  then  be  taken  by  the  bend, 
and    drawn    through  just    far   enough    to 


Good  Water. 


136 


Striped  Bass  Pishing 

allow  the  point  and  barb  to  be  passed  a 
third  time  through  the  bait,  just  far  enough 
to  expose  the  point ;  and  then  with  a 
couple  of  half-hitches,  one  around  both 
the  bait  and  shank  of  the  hook,  and  the 
other  on  the  shank  below  the  knob  of  the 
hook  alone,  the  bait  is  ready  to  be  cast. 
It  will  be  found  on  examination  that  the 
line  pulls  directly  on  the  hook  without 
cutting  the  bait,  and  if  the  whole  thing  is 
seized  by  a  fish,  the  pull  on  the  line  will 
drive  the  barb  into  the  fish's  mouth  with- 
out interference  of  the  bait  itself. 

One's  interest  is  now  centred  on  the 
rod ;  and  this  is  seen  to  be  short,  —  not 
exceeding  8  feet  in  length,  -  -  with  large 
free  guides  and  tips  of  german  silver, 
sometimes  of  agate.  Generally  the  rod 
consists  of  two  pieces, --a  butt  of,  say  22 
inches,  and  a  tip  of  5^  to  6  feet;  or  it 
may  be  one  solid  bamboo  rod,  of  size, 
taper,  and  flexibility  to  suit  fancy.  The 
reel  is  usually  a  work  of  art,  in  which 
America  excels  all  other  nations.  It  is 
quite  large,  holding  from  700  to  900  feet 
of  line,  multiplying,  and  will  run  freely 
one  minute  and  a  half  with  a  twirl  of  the 
finger.  The  best  makers  strive  to  adjust 
a  perfect  balance  between  the  handle  and 
its  revolution,  so  that  the  slightest  pres- 

137 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

sure  will  stop  its  motion,  and  so  prevent 
"  overrunning." 

Following  our  friend's  suggestion,  we 
will  go  out  on  the  stand  and  watch  his 
movements,  and  thus  learn  first  what  is 
to  be  done,  and  then  how  to  do  it.  He 
puts  on  his  oiled  trousers,  to  catch  the 
drip  of  water  which  always  runs  off  the 
reel  onto  knees  and  legs,  and  adjusts  two 
thumbs,  fingers  of  crocheted  wool,  termed 
"  thumb-stalls/'  with  which'  pressure  can 
be  put  on  the  reels,  without  experiencing 
the  burning  its  rapidly  revolving  surface 
would  otherwise  produce. 

"  Tom,  have  you  any  chum  ready  ? " 
to  the  "  chummer." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"  Well,  throw  it  out."  And  Tom  runs 
rapidly  out  on  the  planks,  which  extend 
out  from  the  shore  a  distance  of  thirty  to 
fifty  feet,  at  which  point  the  ends  are  sup- 
ported by  two  iron  stanchions  embedded 
in  one  of  the  huge  bowlders  there  sub- 
merged. Upon  the  ends,  about  three  feet 
inside,  is  lashed  a  wooden  chair,  secured 
firmly  by  staples  to  the  stand  ;  and  after 
making  his  cast,  here  the  fisherman  takes 
his  seat.  Tom  throws  vigorously  out  as 
far  as  he  can  all  the  remains  of  the  fishes 
he  has  cut  up,  —  heads,  tails,  and  back- 
138 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

bones,  and  entrails,  —  all  full  of  oil,  which 
soon  create  on  the  surface  of  the  water  a 
"  slick  ;  "  and  as  the  tide  sweeps  these  par- 
ticles out,  and  the  odor  pervades  the  water 
and  air,  the  fish  are  attracted,  and  follow 
up  the  "  slick, "  looking  eagerly  for  the 
food  it  promises.  Our  friend  now  exam- 
ines his  reel ;  and,  finding  it  is  slack  and 
the  line  lying  loosely  on  it,  he  unreels 
quite  a  quantity,  rewinding  it  with  great 
care  tightly  and  very  evenly,  layer  by  layer, 
until  he  has  only  an  end  of  about  two  feet 
from  the  tip,  to  which  hangs  his  bait, 
looking  firm,  fresh,  and  inviting.  He 
now  walks  to  the  end  of  the  stand,  steps 
carefully  in  front  of  the  chair,  braces  him- 
self with  his  left  foot  on  the  strip  clamp- 
ing the  two  planks  together,  and  with  his 
right  inboard  towards  the  chair,  swings 
the  tip  and  bait  back  toward  the  plank. 
His  left  hand  grasps  the  butt,  his  right 
has  the  thumb  on  the  reel  and  fingers 
around  the  handle  —  then  with  a  quick 
wrist  and  forearm  movement,  largely  par- 
taking of  a  jerk,  he  impels  the  bait  out- 
ward at  a  slight  elevation,  his  eyes  fixed 
on  the  flying  bait,  his  thumb  barely  touch- 
ing the  face  of  the  reel,  until  he  sees  its 
flight  decreasing  and  the  bait  falling;  at 
this  instant,  by  his  thumb's  pressure,  he 

139 


Stri/>c,i  Bass  Fishing- 


stops  the  revolutions 
of  the  reel,  and  has 
the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  the  bait  fall 
well  out  into  the 
water,  and  feels  and 
sees  his  reel  all  free, 
and  the  line  on  it 
firm  and  undis- 
turbed. Or  else 
his  thumb  has  per- 
formed its  office  of 
checking,  by  reason 
of  his  seeing  the 
outward  flight  sud- 
denly and  forcibly 
arrested  and  his  bait 
flying  backward 
towards  the  stand, 
which  may  always 
be  attributed  to  over 
confidence  in  the 
reel's  condition,  and 
the  lack  of  the  pre- 
caution of  unwind- 
ing and  rewinding 
with  care.  Or  if  it 
is  not  the  first  cast, 
undue  haste  in 
winding  in  to  get 


140 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

a  fresh  bait,  or  for  any  other  purpose,  will 
be  the  cause.  Dear  reader,  if  you  aspire 
to  be  a  bass  fisherman,  religiously  examine 
your  reel  before  casting,  always  and  in 
every  case ;  and  unless  you  see  and  know 
that  it  lies  firmly  and  regularly  on  the 
reel,  never  hesitate,  but  at  once  unreel  it 
and  lay  it  on  carefully,  and  thus  you  will 
save  yourself  many  an  impatient  word  and 
action. 

At  last  we  have  a  beautiful  cast ;  the 
bait  has  shot  out  at  least  150  feet,  and 
fallen  gently  into  the  water ;  the  slack  has 
been  gathered  in,  so  that  you  feel  the  bait, 
and  know  that  each  movement  of  the  reel 
moves  it  slightly ;  and  now  comes  in  the 
trait  of  a  true  fisherman,  —  patience.  That 
kind  of  patience  which  does  not  lose  heart, 
even  though,  for  days  in  succession,  bait 
after  bait  is  cast  out  without  return,  until 
the  fisherman  feels  as  if  he  is  only  feeding 
blackfish  and  "  cunners,"  with  which  the 
water  abounds,  and  which  will  eat  off  the 
bait  sometimes  before  it  is  fairly  settled  in 
the  water.  Our  chances  this  afternoon 
are  rather  slim,  still  there  is  a  freshening 
southwest  breeze  blowing  from  Gay  Head, 
and  the  swash  of  the  surf  begins  to  be 
heavier ;  but  on  looking  over  the  side  of 
the  stand,  the  bottom,  with  its  folds  and 

141 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

waving  ribbons  of  yellow  seaweeds  is  too 
plainly  visible,  and  as  you  look  down  you 
see  a  huge  eel  slowly  glide  from  one  rock 
to  another,  and  schools  of  green  cunners 
chase  a  little  atom  of  bait  the  tide  has 
brought  back. 

"  By  George  !  I've  got  him,"  exclaims 
our  friend  in  the  chair ;  and  as  we  hastily 
look  up,  he  is  seen  apparently  righting  to 
keep  his  rod  erect,  whilst  something  at  the 
other  end  is  convulsively  dragging  it  down- 
ward, with  such  jerks  as  threaten  to  part 
the  line  or  break  the  rod.  The  reel  is 
whizzing  in  a  threatening  way,  and  our 
friend  has  a  hard  time  to  keep  his  thumb 
on  the  barrel  of  the  reel,  and  at  the  same 
time  avoid  having  his  knuckles  rapped  and 
torn  by  the  rapidly  revolving  handle.  His 
left,  as  yet,  grasps  the  rod  above  the  reel, 
and  forces  the  socket  into  his  groin. 

"  Bring  out  that  belt,  Tom,"  he  yells  ; 
and  Tom  comes  jumping  down  the  rocks, 
in  one  hand  his  gaff-hook,  and  in  the  other 
a  leather  belt  with  a  short  round  pocket 
sewed  on  its  centre.  This  Tom  hastily 
buckles  about  the  waist  of  the  fisherman, 
when,  carefully  shifting  the  pole,  he  places 
the  butt  in  this  pocket,  and  is  thus  pro- 
tected from  possible  injury,  which  the 
great  leverage  of  the  fish's  pulling  on  the 
142 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 


The  Fishing  Stand  at  Cuttyhunk,  Mass. 

top  of  the  rod  can.  easily  produce.  The 
fish,  in  the  meantime,  has  succeeded  in 
getting  away,  say  three  to  four  hundred 
feet  now,  and  shows  some  hesitation. 
Our  friend  has  carefully  kept  a  pressure 
on  the  reel,  whilst  indulging  his  majesty 
in  imaginary  freedom  of  running,  but 
which  he  begins  to  realize  as  "uncanny;" 
and  as  our  eyes  follow  the  slender  thread 
of  the  line  in  its  distant  entry  into  the 
water,  it  is  seen  to  rise,  and  presently,  with 
a  whirl  of  his  tail,  the  fish  shows  himself, 
looking  then  to  our  unskilled  eyes  a  very 
monster ;  and  as  he  again  disappears  we 
unhesitatingly  pronounce  him  full  six  feet 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

long.  "Oh,  no!"  says  our  friend  in  reply 
to  our  exclamation,  "  he  is  not  over  a 
thirty-pounder,  but  he  is  a  good  one — see 
him  fight!  "  and  the  victim  tugs  and  tugs, 
with  a  desperation  born  of  a  foresight  of 
his  calamity ;  but  in  vain,  and  in  another 
ten  minutes  he  loses  heart,  and  sheers  in 
towards  the  shore,  when  our  friend  is  put 
to  all  his  skill  to  check  and  reel  him  in 
before  he  reaches  a  huge  rock  inshore  for 
which  he  heads — just  in  time!  The  next 
wave  moves  him  bodily  this  side  of  that 
rock,  and  the  road  is  clear  to  warping  him 
in.  This  is  done  by  forcibly  elevating  the 
pole  and  keeping  it  as  far  over  the  shoulder 
as  control  will  permit ;  then  rapidly  reel- 
ing and  lowering  the  pole  until  nearly 
horizontal,  and  continuing  to  repeat  the 
process,  thus  avoiding  the  terrible  strain 
on  the  reel  itself,  which  any  attempt  to 
reel  his  dead  weight  inshore  would  pro- 
duce. And  now  he  is  slowly  dragged  to- 
wards the  stand,  and  his  beautiful  color  and 
stripes  are  plainly  seen  ;  but  he  still  strives 
by  ineffectual  runs,  first  to  one  side  and 
then  the  other,  to  avert  his  fate,  though 
all  in  vain,  as  Tom  is  now  bending  low 
down  from  the  outer  end  of  the  plank 
with  his  sharp,  shining  gaff-hook  ex- 
tended. 

144 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 


"  A  little  more  to  the  left,  sir,"  he  says ; 
and  as  the  fisherman  inclines  his  pole  and 
turns  the  fish's  head,  his  gaff  is  extended 
down,  under  and  across  the  fish's  body ;  a 
rapid  jerk  upward  and  backward,  and  it 
sinks  into  his  silver  belly.  He  is  raised 
from  the  water,  convulsively  hugged  by 
Tom,  who  reaches  for  the  rod,  and  all  of 
us  hurry  inshore  to  inspect  and  gloat  over 
him.  "  What  does  he  weigh,  Tom  ?  " 
And  with  judicial  eye  Tom  measures  and 
lifts  him.  "  I  say,  thirty  pounds."-  -"Well, 
I  think  thirty-five,"  says  the  fisherman, 
the  inexperienced  looker-on  being  under 
the  conviction  that  he  should  weigh  fifty, 
at  least,  and  impressed  with  a  sense  of  awe 
—  his  huge  mouth  and  head  when  seen 
for  the  first  time  thus  affecting  one.  It 
is  now  too  dark  to  be  worth  while  to  fish 
longer,  and  we  are  in  fact  a  little  eager  to 
get  home  and  exhibit  our  catch.  So  Tom 
puts  him  in  the  basket,  covers  him  care- 
fully with  fresh  seaweed,  recklessly  throws 
all  his  cut-up  bait  for  chum,  and  we  start 
for  the  house,  Tom  gladly  lugging  his 
heavy  basket  for  the  glory  and  triumph 
he  will  have  on  exhibiting  him.  The 
"  chummer  "  becomes  part  and  parcel  of 
his  "  boss,"  participates  in  all  his  excite- 
ments, honors,  and  disappointments,  and 

'45 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

constitutes  no  small  element  of  comfort 
or  discord,  as  his  temper  and  capacity  turn 
out.  As  we  arrive  at  the  club-house,  win- 
dows go  up,  heads  are  thrust  out,  eager 
questioning  follows;  men  and  ladies  turn 
out  and  go  to  the  fish-house  to  admire  the 
beauty  and  guess  his  weight.  After  the 
solemn  ceremony  of  ascertaining  his  exact 
weight  has  been  performed,  he  is  carefully 
packed  away  in  the  ice-box,  to  be  sent  to 
your  most  valued  friend,  or  disposed  of  by 
the  club  steward.  It  is  now  the  judgment 
of  connoisseurs  that  the  flesh  of  this  fish 
is  improved  by  being  kept  on  ice  two  or 
three  days  at  least. 

Such   are    the   general  features  of   this 
noble  sport,  but  subject  to  great  variation. 


Mr.  Da-vis's  stand,  Brenton's  Reef,  Newport,  R.I, 
146 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 


Another  day  a  "  cloudy  sou'-wester "  is 
prevailing ;  and  the  dull  roar  of  the  surf, 
with  its  heavy  pounding,  and  the  crash  of 
the  cobblestones  rolling  downward  on  the 
beach  as  the  sea  recedes,  is  plainly  heard. 
On  looking  from  the  club-house,  over  at 
the  point  of  Naushon,  one  can  see  the 
successive  waves  rolling  on  shore,  and  the 
"  white  water "  is  plainly  seen  extending 
hundreds  of  feet  from  shore.  "  A  superb 
bass  day !  "  is  the  greeting  from  one  to 
another.  And  both  the  wagons  are 
brought  into  service  to  take  out  the  fisher- 
men to  their  respective  stands.  A  novel 
and  exciting  scene  it  is  to  see  these  loads 
of  eager  men.  Some  who,  in  their  varied 
and  important  stations  in  life  and  business, 
have  been  wont  to  look  upon  financial 
panics  and  disturbing  causes  unmoved,  are 
now  excited  and  anxious  about  stands  and 
bait,  and  rods  and  "  chummers,"  as  if 
their  living  depended  on  them.  Down 
we  all  go ;  and  all  the  stands  on  the  South 
Shore  are  quite  sure  to  be  manned  that  day. 
Altogether  different  is  the  scene  and  also 
the  work  to-day.  As  the  tide  and  sea 
rise,  the  huge  breakers  get  heavier,  until 
finally  they  dash  over  the  stands ;  some  of 
the  more  daring  still  stick  to  their  chairs, 
and  with  oilers  and  rubber-boots  defy  the 

147 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

waves,  being  excited  with  the  momentary 
expectation  of  catching  a  huge  fellow. 
But  this  by  no  means  follows,  even  the 
most  propitious  conditions ;  nor  do  the 
most  adverse  state  of  wind  and  weather 
always  work  adverse  results.  The  most 
remarkable  catch  of  bass  ever  made  at 
Pasque  Island  was  with  the  water  as  clear 
as  crystal  and  perfectly  smooth.  There 
happened  in  a  school  of  huge  bass,  and 
they  were  very  hungry,  and  took  the  bait 
without  hesitation  for  more  than  twenty- 
four  hours  after  arrival ;  and  one  member, 
comparatively  inexperienced  as  a  fisher- 
man, caught  nine  fish  in  one  day,  aggre- 
gating 170  pounds. 

Nearly,  if  not  quite,  all  bass  fishermen 
agree  in  the  opinion  that  the  steam  men- 
haden fishermen  have  greatly  injured  the 
bass-fishing -- both  by  depriving  them  of 
the  food  they  most  eagerly  seek,  and  also 
by  driving  them  off  their  feeding-grounds 
by  their  huge  nets. 

A  few  years  ago,  from  the  first  of  July 
to  the  first  of  November,  one  could  rea- 
sonably expect  any  day  to  hook  a  large  bass 
at  any  of  the  noted  places.  Now  they 
can  rarely  be  caught,  even  where  syste- 
matically chummed. 

But  there  are  many  enjoyments  in  the 
148 


Striped  Bass  fishing 


What  does  he  weigh,   Tom  ? ' 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

surroundings.  The  delicious,  exhilarating, 
health-giving  air  from  these  pure  sea- 
waters,  the  soul-inspiring  scenery,  and 
varying  panorama  of  vessels  constantly 
moving,  create  in  all  frequenters  of  these 
islands  a  real  love  for  them.  If  you  doubt 
it,  come  and  try  it. 

I  recall  one  occasion  —  when  on  visit- 
ing the  Club,  I  learned  on  arrival  that  no 
bass  had  been  caught  for  three  weeks  past 
—  on  which,  with  the  eagerness  invariably 
accompanying  even  the  sight  of  the  stands 
and  shore,  I  proceeded  with  little  loss  of 
time  to  one  of  my  old  haunts.  The  bait 
had  been  duly  cast,  when,  on  settling  my- 
self in  the  chair  and  looking  about  me, 
to  study  the  water  and  its  indications,  I 
saw  in  the  slightly  lapping  surf  about  thirty 
feet  below  the  stand,  what  appeared  to  be 
the  tail  of  a  fish  slowly  waving  in  response 
to  the  movement  of  the  waves.  With  an 
exclamation  of  surprise,  my  "  chummer  " 
was  summoned  in  conference,  and  we  con- 
cluded it  was  a  fish  of  some  kind ;  and 
both  of  us  rushed  ashore,  down  the  beach, 
and  out  on  the  rocks,  and  in  a  few  more 
minutes  into  the  surf,  where  by  aid  of  the 
gaff-hook  we  slowly  hauled  ashore  a  su- 
perb bass,  which  on  examination  showed 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 


by  his  pale  gills  that  he  had  literally 
"  fainted  away."  A  scrutiny  of  his  body 
soon  brought  to  light  the  cause.  One  of 
his  side  fins  was  found  bitten  off  nearly  in 
its  full  size,  close  to  his  side.  He  had  ev- 
idently been  chased  by  a  shark,  or  some 
other  voracious  fish,  which  had  bitten  him 
in  this  manner;  and  in  desperation  the  poor 
fellow  had  rushed  into  the  shoal  water, 
where,  stranded  and  almost  lifeless,  he  lay 
when  I  saw  his  tail.  After  being  ashore 
for  fifteen  minutes  the  color  of  his  gills 
slowly  returned  to  their  natural  brilliant 
scarlet.  Of  course  a  comparatively  short, 
because  unsuccessful,  sojourn  on  the  stand 
sufficed,  and  we  returned  to  the  house  in 
triumph,  to  experience  not  the  least  of 
152 


Stri/xti  Buss  Fishing 

the  pleasures  or  the  sport  in  the  congratu- 
lations and  rejoicings  of  fellow-members. 
The  fellow  weighed  42  Ibs. ;  and  the  face- 
tious secretary  of  the  Club  in  solemn  voice 
announced  that  he  "had  been  appointed  a 
special  committee  of  six,  to  invite  me  to 
immediately  leave  the  island,  as  for  any 
member  to  come  down  and  catch  a  42- 
pounder  within  a  few  hours,  when  all 
hands  had  been  fishing  three  weeks  with- 
out results,  was  not  to  be  borne  !  "  I  pleaded 
in  extenuation  that  I  thought  when  the 
circumstances  of  the  catch  were  narrated, 
I  might  be  pardoned  ;  and  then  told  to  the 
wondering  group  the  story,  and  showed 
the  damaged  fin.  I  was  graciously  ac- 
corded the  pardon  of  the  Club,  and  the 
record-book  was  made  to  duly  recount  the 
incident. 

Each  day  some  different  state  of  the 
water  required  the  change  of  bait  from 
menhaden  to  lobster  tail  or  small  eels.  All 
vary  the  sport,  and  furnish  the  endless  nar- 
ratives with  which  a  group  of  old  fisher- 
men beguile  the  placid  hours  spent  in  the 
sitting-room  and  on  the  long  piazzas. 
They  tell  of  the  enormous  fellows  they 
have  lost ;  how  this  one  ran  nearly  the 
whole  line  off  his  reel,  when  it  was  cut  off 
by  a  bluefish;  how  that  one  was  so  great, 

'53 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

that  the  utmost  pull  on  the  line  could  not 
stir  him  after  he  had  run  to  the  bottom 
and  "  sulked,"  and  finally  how  the  line 
parted,  by  being  chafed  off  against  a  rock. 
A  third  tells  you  how  his  fish  sulked,  and 
then  pounded  his  head  on  the  bottom  to 
"spring"  the  hook  out,  and  succeeded. 
A  fourth  tells  triumphantly  how,  when 
having  seen  his  fish,  and  knowing  him  to 
be  a  "  good  one,"  on  his  taking  to  the 
game  of  sulking,  he  had  sent  his  "  chum- 
mer  "  back  to  the  house,  obtained  a  boat 
and  another  man,  rowed  outside  to  the 
stand,  carefully  followed  the  line  out  until 
over  the  fish,  and  thus  secured  him.  The 
scarcity  of  fish  is  discussed  ;  and  every  ima- 
ginable cause  is  carefully  weighed, — steam 
menhaden  fishing,  "  night  seiners,"  scarcity 
of  "fry,"  change  of  feeding-grounds,  etc. 
I  was  once  favored  with  a  scene  that  in- 
delibly printed  itself  on  my  memory,  and 
furnished  a  yarn  for  one  of  these  councils. 
A  strong  northwest  wind  had  been  blow- 
ing all  night,  and  a  lively,  brisk  sea  was 
setting  on  the  North  Shore.  I  had  been 
fishing  for  some  hours  without  success ;  and 
as  the  now  large  waves  rolled  in,  my  eye 
followed  them  in,  commenting  on  their 
remarkable  clearness  and  transparency.  I 
made  a  new  cast,  and  sat  down,  when  on 
154 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

my  left,  heading  for  the  bait  which  I  had 
just  thrown  out,  was  a  beautiful  bass,  his 
stripes  and  silver  side  plainly  visible,  his 
brilliant  eyes  staring  at  me,  precisely  as 
mine  were  fixed  on  him.  The  wave  rolled 
him  up  until  he  was  in  bold  relief  against 
its  green  depths ;  and  had  he  been  arti- 
ficially held  there,  the  picture  could  not 
have  been  more  perfect  nor  animated.  His 
impetus  and  intention  both  carried  him  as 
far  as  the  bait ;  and  he  took  it  into  his 
mouth,  but  only  held  it  for  an  instant. 
His  terror  was  too  vivid  to  admit  of  for- 
getfulness ;  and  I  in  vain  reeled  in,  and 
threw  again  and  again. 

Another  time,  I  had  hooked  and  suc- 
cessfully sustained  the  run  of  a  large  fish, 
had  turned  him,  and  had  warped  him  in, 
until  he  was  within  fifty  feet  of  me;  quite 
a  heavy  surf  was  running,  of  which  I  was 
availing  myself  to  aid  in  bringing  him  in, 
when  my  "  chummqr "  called  attention 
to  the  seaweed  which  was  running  in  on 
the  line  and  threatened  to  choke  up  the 
tip.  Hardly  had  he  spoken,  when  it 
jammed  the  line  so  that  I  no  longer  had  the 
slightest  control  over  the  fish.  The  next 
wave  moved  him  about  ten  feet  inshore, 
and  on  the  other  side  of  a  huge  sunken 
bowlder ;  and  as  the  line  became  taut,  al- 

155 


Striped  Bass  fishing 

though  I  tried  all  I  could  to  extend  the 
rod,  and  give  it  play,  it  parted  as  if  a 
thread,  and  there  I  stood,  stamping  with 
vexation,  utterly  helpless,  the  heavy  surf 
forbidding  any  attempt  to  get  to  him,  and 
looking  on  his  huge  majesty  rolling  from 
side  to  side,  nearly  drowned,  and  quite  un- 
able himself  at  the  moment  to  make  any 
exertion ;  but  gradually  he  gathered  power, 
and  a  sudden  conviction  that  he  was  no 
longer  a  prisoner,  and  I  had  the  comfort 
of  seeing  him  slowly  glide  about,  and  out 
to  sea.  My  feelings  were  much  added  to 
by  having  one  of  the  fair  sex  sitting  on  the 
bank  above  me,  watching  the  whole  opera- 
tion, and  perhaps  more  amused  at  my  dis- 
comfiture than  distressed  at  my  loss. 

Such  are  the  prominent  and  prevailing 
features  of  the  sport.  Each  locality,  how- 
ever, has  its  own  features  and  advantages 
or  disadvantages.  There  can  be  no  doubt 
that  of  all  the  places,  the  advantages  af- 
forded by  Brenton-Reef  are  supreme,  espe- 
cially when  aided  by  the  long  and  strong 
stands  erected  by  Mr.  Winans,  now  owned 
by  Mr.  Davis ;  and  next  may  be  classed 
the  rocks  at  Narragansett  known  formerly 
as  "  Anthony's."  The  east  end  of  Mon- 
tauk  has  also  developed  well,  and  we  hear 
156 


Striped  Bass  Fishing 

good  reports  of  "  catches  "  made  there. 
At  Block  Island  also,  and  at  "  No  Man's 
Land  "  at  times,  remarkable  catches  have 
been  made,  and  even  down  at  Cape  Cod 
and  Nantucket  ;  but  all  of  them  are  sub- 
ject to  variation,  and  the  true  sportsman 
finds  his  enjoyment  in  all  the  surroundings 
more  than  in  the  fish  itself,  or  even  its 
capture. 


157 


THE    HAUNTS 

OF     THE 

BLACK    SEA-BASS 

By  Charles  Frederick  Holder 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Rass 


T  is  said  that  when  the  purchase 
of  the  northwest  coast  was  con- 
templated by  the  United  States 
Government,  an  old  English 
raconteur  and  fly-fisherman  re- 
marked, "  Oh,  let  the  Yankees  have  it ; 
the  salmon  won't  rise  to  a  fly !  " 

Southern  California  might  go  by  default 
in  this  way,  as  fly-fishing,  compared  with 
that  of  the  East,  is  not  to  be  had,  though 
the  San  Gabriel,  Arroyo  Seco,  and  other 
canons  have  many  pools  where  gleams  of 
light  and  color  flash,  telling  of  the  liv- 
ing rainbow  lurking  in  the  shadows.  If 
Southern  California  is  deficient  in  black- 
bass  streams  and  salmon  pools,  it  possesses 
the  finest  marine  fishing  in  North  Ameri- 
can waters ;  not  only  in  the  size  and  gamy 
qualities  of  the  fish,  but  in  the  variety  of 
forms  which  follow  each  other  as  the  sea- 
sons advance,  adding  new  and  constant  zest 
to  the  sport. 

The  striped-bass  fishing  has  its  proto- 
type here  in  the  gamy  yellow-tail,  seriola 
dorsalis,  which  attains  a  weight  of  forty  or 
fifty  pounds,  and  is  as  rapid  in  its  move- 
ments as  the  tarpon.  An  important  per- 
sonage is  he  who  lands  a  yellow-tail  on 
an  ordinary  striped-bass  rod,  reel,  and  line. 
Equally  gamy  as  the  yellow-tail  is  the  sea- 

161 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

bass,  ranging  up  to  sixty  pounds,  while 
the  barracuda,  tuna,  albicore,  and  others 
afford  the  sport  esteemed  by  blue  fishermen 
in  the  East. 

From  the  Santa  Barbara  Islands  to  the 
Coronados,  and  beyond,  is  the  field  of  the 
Southern  California  Walton ;  the  islands 
of  the  Santa  Barbara  channel,  Santa  Cata- 
lina  and  San  Clemente,  being  particularly 
famous  in  the  piscatorial  annals,  and  the 
Mecca  of  lovers  of  this  sport,  winter  and 
summer.  The  island  of  Santa  Catalina 
is  the  principal  rallying-point,  being  the 
largest,  possessing  the  small  town  of  Ava- 
lon,  a  popular  summer  resort,  with  numer- 
ous bays  and  harbors  protected  from  the 
inshore  wind  that  blows  in  beneath  the 
steady  trade.  An  ideal  spot  it  is, --a 
series  of  mountain  ranges,  from  one  thou- 
sand to  twenty-six  hundred  feet,  rising 
green-hued  from  the  blue  waters  of  the 
Pacific,  and  extending  twenty-two  miles 
down  the  coast,  and  an  equal  distance 
from  it.  From  the  slopes  of  the  Sierra 
Madre,  forty  miles  away,  the  island  appears 
formed  of  two  lofty  peaks,  sloping  gently 
to  the  ocean  ;  but  standing  upon  its  highest 
summit,  I  looked  down  upon  range  after 
range,  cutting  the  island  into  a  maze  of 
canons  that  wound  in  every  direction  to 

162 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

the  sea.  Near  its  northern  portions  two 
harbors  extend  in  from  opposite  sides,  the 
island  evidently  at  one  time  having  been 
separated,  the  isthmus,  as  it  is  called,  being 
but  a  few  hundred  feet  across ;  from  this 
it  widens  out  to  six  miles  or  more.  The 
island  is  really  a  gigantic  mountain  range 
projecting  from  the  ocean.  The  cliffs  are 
majestic,  beetling,  rising  sheer  from  the 
sea,  broken  into  strange  forms,  and  tinted 
with  folds  and  splashes  of  color.  The  only 
beaches  are  at  the  mouths  of  the  canons, 
or  perhaps  where  the  continued  falling  of 
rocks  in  land-slides  caused  by  the  winds 
have  formed  a  vantage-ground  for  waves. 
On  the  west  coast  the  sea  assails  the  cliffs 
with  sullen  roar,  and  the  inshore  wind 
whirls  up  the  canons,  beating  the  fog 
against  the  rocks,  and  bearing  it  aloft, 
where  it  is  dissipated  by  the  radiating  heat 
of  the  mountains.  On  the  east  the  water 
is  calmer,  often  like  glass,  affording  favor- 
able conditions  for  boating  and  fishing. 

The  air  of  this  island  in  the  sea  seems 
redolent  with  romance.  Three  hundred 
years  ago  Cabrillo,  a  Spanish  adventurer, 
cast  anchor  in  one  of  its  harbors,  and 
named  it  La  Victoria,  after  one  of  his 
vessels.  In  1602  Viscaino  visited  and  gave 
it  the  present  name  of  Santa  Catalina. 

165 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 


Father  Ascencion,  who  accompanied  him, 
describes  the  inhabitants  as  sun  worship- 
pers, one  of  whose  temples  he  found  near 
the  two  harbors.  In  these  early  days  the 
island  had  a  large  and  prosperous  native 
population  ;  every  well-watered  canon  had 
its  village,  and  I  have  found  evidences  of 
them  on  some  of  the  highest  ranges. 

One  of  my  first  visits  to  Santa  Catalina 
was  for  the  purpose  of  opening  some  of 
the  ancient  graves  of  these  people ;  and 
while  thinking  the  matter  over  with 
"  Mexican  Joe/'  who  has  lived  thirty 
years  on  the  island,  I  took  out  an  old  bass- 
rod  that  had  seen  service  on  the  St.  Law- 
rence, and  began  looking  it  over. 

"  What  you  catch  with  that?"  asked 
my  companion,  with  a  curious  look  on 
his  strong  Indian  face. 

"  Bass,  black,"  I  answered  noncha- 
lantly, whirling  the  reel,  and  listening  to 
the  music. 

"  What!  "  retorted  Joe,  laughing  ;  then, 
"  How  much  he  weigh  ? " 

"  Five  pounds,"  thinking  of  a  certain 
afternoon  on  the  river. 

"  Oh  !  "  continued  Joe,  "  I  thought  you 
mean  black  sea-bass." 

"  Well,  how  much  does  he  weigh  ?  "  I 
asked. 

166 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

"  How  much  he  weigh  ?  You  want 
catch  with  that  ?  "  said  Joe,  pointing  to 
the  rod  with  scorn.  "  Why,  man,  he 
weigh  five  hundred  pounds.  Yes,  black 
sea-bass  run  from  seventy-five  to  five  hun- 
dred, seven  hundred  pounds." 

I  ran  over  in  my  mind  the  various  heavy- 
weight tackles,  —  the  tarpon,  striped-bass, 
salmon  rods,  —  and  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  a  flag-staff  with  a  donkey-engine  reel 
attachment  might  do  ;  yet  decided,  then 
and  there,  to  take  a  black  sea-bass,  if  it 
was  among  the  possibilities.  I  announced 
my  determination  interrogatively  to  my 
guide  and  oarsman. 

"  Of  course  you  catch  one  if  you  know 
how.  I  show  you  where  he  live.  It  take 
patience  sometimes,"  was  the  reply. 

I  was  well  supplied  with  this  necessary, 
and  a  few  days  later  found  myself  gliding 
away  in  the  deep  shadows  of  the  rocks, 
headed  for  one  of  the  haunts  of  the  deep- 
sea  bass.  The  water  here  was  so  clear 
objects  forty  feet  below  could  be  distinctly 
seen,  glances  into  the  depths  showing 
an  almost  tropical  condition  of  things. 
Bright-hued  fishes,  yellow  and  orange, 
darted  by,  disappearing  in  patches  of  wiry 
seaweed  that  gleamed  with  blue  and  iri- 
descent tints.  In  the  watery  space  fairy- 

167 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

like  medusa  moved  lazily  about,  rising  and 
falling,  while  here,  there,  and  everywhere 
flashed  a  veritable  gem  in  red,  gold,  blue, 
green,  and  amber,  the  minute  crustacean 
sapphirina. 

When  off  a  point  which  juts  boldly  into 
the  sea,  the  keeper  of  the  fortunes  of  the 
black  sea-bass  ceased  rowing,  cast  anchor, 
and  we  swung  in  the  current  that  ran  along 
the  rocky  shores  to  the  north.  The  tackle 
produced  by  my  oarsman  was  not  aesthetic. 
The  line  was  almost  as  large  as  that  em- 
ployed in  the  halibut  fisheries  of  the  East, 
while  the  hook  was  perhaps  twice  as  large 
as  a  tarpon-hook,  arranged  with  a  well- 
working  swivel.  Live  bait,  a  whitefish 
which  we  soon  caught,  was  attached,  with 
a  sinker  sufficient  to  carry  it  down.  The 
line  was  then  dropped  over,  and  that  pa- 
tient waiting  which  makes  all  successful 
fishermen  philosophers  begun. 

Three  hundred — yes,  one  hundred  years 
ago,  a  boat  could  not  have  dropped  anchor 
here  without  being  the  object  of  hundreds 
of  eyes,  and  the  news  would  have  been 
flashed  from  hill-top  to  canon  to  the  vari- 
ous camps  ;  now  the  only  observers  were 
the  shag  that  flew  along  near  the  boat,  its 
long,  snake-like  neck  extended,  startling 
the  flying-fish  into  the  air  in  fright,  and 

1 68 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 


Three  hundred  and  forty-two  and  a  half,  sir  I 


Tlu  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

a  wondering  pair  of  eyes  that  stared  at  us, 
telling  of  a  sea-lion  making  the  grand 
rounds;  while  the  leaping  forms  near  the 
shore  were  seals,  bound  for  their  rookery 
around  the  bend.  The  whistle  of  plumed 
quail  came  softly  over  the  crags  from  the 
neighboring  canon,  and  the  gentle,  musi- 
cal ripple  of  the  waves  lulled  us  to  fan- 
cied repose. 

I  had  been  watching  the  interesting  face 
of  my  Mexican  guide,  wondering  at  his 
life,  when  I  noticed  his  eyes  suddenly 
grow  large  ;  then  he  lifted  the  line  gently 
with  thumb  and  forefinger.  It  trembled, 
thrilled  like  the  string  of  a  musical  instru- 
ment touched  by  some  player  beneath  the 
sea.  Slowly  it  took  his  fingers  down  to 
the  water's  edge. 

A  bass  ?  Yes.  No  snap,  no  sudden  rush, 
no  determined  break  for  liberty  as  I  had 
seen  the  black  bass  make.  I  was  disap- 
pointed; a  simple  drag.  But  the  Mexican 
smiled,  and  passed  me  the  line,  arranging 
with  the  other  hand  the  coil  in  the  bot- 
tom of  the  boat. 

"  He's  a  young  one,"  he  remarked. 
"Pay  him  out  ten  feet,  then  jerk,  an'  stan' 
clear  the  line." 

These  instructions  took  but  a  few  sec- 
onds, yet  the  line  was  now  gliding  through 

171 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

my  hands  like  a  living  thing  —  four,  eight, 
ten  feet.  Suddenly  it  tautened,  and  for 
a  single  second  the  tension  hurled  the 
sparkling  drops  high  in  air ;  then,  leaning 
forward,  I  jerked  the  line  with  all  my 
strength.  I  have  watched  the  silvery  form 
of  the  tarpon  as,  like  a  gleam  of  light,  it 
rushed  into  the  air,  shaking,  quivering  be- 
fore the  fall,  and  have  handled  large  fish 
of  many  kinds ;  but  I  was  unprepared  for 
the  deep-water  tactics  of  this  king  of  the 
bass.  For  a  brief  period  there  was  no 
response,  as  if  the  fish  had  been  stricken 
with  surprise  at  this  new  sensation  ;  then 
a  smoke,  a  succession  of  snake-like  forms 
rising  into  the  air  —  nothing  but  the  line 
leaping  from  its  coil.  "  Ah,  he  only  a 
young  one,"  said  Joe;  "  take  hold." 

In  some  way  I  had  lost  the  line  in  this 
rush.  Watching  my  opportunity,  I  seized 
it  again,  and  by  an  effort  that  thoroughly 
tested  the  muscles,  brought  the  fierce  rush 
to  an  end.  Then  came  heavy  blows  dis- 
tinctly given,  as  from  the  shoulder,  evi- 
dently produced  as  the  fish  threw  its  head 
back  in  quick  succession. 

"Take  it  in  !  "  said  my  companion  ex- 
citedly ;  and  bending  to  the  work  I  brought 
the  line  in,  fighting  for  every  inch  that 
came,  when  the  Mexican  shouted  a  warn- 
172 


The  Haunts  of  ilte  Black  Sea- Bass 

ing.  Whizz  !  and  the  coils  leaped  again 
into  the  air.  Nothing  could  withstand 
the  rush --a  header  directly  for  the  bot- 
tom and  away. 

The  anchor  had  been  hauled  up  by  the 
Mexican  at  the  first  strike ;  and  now,  with 
line  in  hand,  we  were  off,  the  boat  churn- 
ing through  the  water,  hurling  the  spray 
over  us,  and  bearing  waves  of  gleaming 
foam  ahead. 

"  Take  in  !  "  cries  Joe,  who  stands  by 
the  coil ;  and  again,  slowly  fighting  against 
the  dull  blows,  the  line  comes  in.  Ten 
feet  gained,  and,  whizz-eee  !  as  many  more 
are  lost.  In  it  comes  once  more,  hand 
over  hand,  the  holder  of  the  line  bending 
this  way  and  that,  trying  to  preserve  a  bal- 
ance and  that  tension  which  would  pre- 
vent a  sudden  break.  Now  the  fish  darts 
to  one  side,  tearing  the  water  into  foam, 
leaving  a  sheet  of  silvery  bubbles,  and 
swinging  the  boat  around  as  on  a  pivot. 
Now  it  is  at  the  surface  —  a  fleeting  vision 
followed  by  a  rush  that  carries  the  very 
gunwale  under  water.  This,  followed  by 
a  sudden  slacking  of  the  line,  sends  despair 
to  the  heart ;  he  is  gone,  the  line  floats. 
No,  whizz  !  and  away  again,  down.  All 
the  tricks  of  the  sturdy  black  bass  this 
giant  of  the  tribe  indulges  in,  except  the 

173 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

mid-air  leaps  which  gladden  the  heart  of 
the  angler.  Quick  turns,  downward  rushes, 
powerful  blows,  mighty  runs,  this  gamy 
creature  makes,  fighting  inch  by  inch, 
leaving  an  impression  upon  the  mind  of 
the  fisherman  that  is  not  soon  forgotten. 

With  a  large  rope,  and  by  taking  turns, 
the  fish  could  have  been  mastered,  but 
such  methods  were  not  considered  sports- 
manlike here.  It  must  be  taken  free- 
handed, a  fight  at  arm's-length,  and  being 
such,  the  moments  fly  by ;  it  is  half  an 
hour,  and  we  have  not  yet  seen  the  out- 
line of  our  game.  Gradually  the  rushes 
grow  less,  the  blows  are  lighter,  and  what 
is  taken  is  all  gain. 

"  It  take  your  wind/'  said  Joe,  with  a 
low  laugh. 

So  it  had ;  and  I  stood  braced  against  the 
gunwale  after  the  final  dash  —  a  burst  of 
speed  —  to  see  a  magnificent  fish,  black, 
lowering,  with  just  a  soupfon  of  white  be- 
neath, pass  swiftly  across  the  line  of  vision, 
whirling  the  boat  around  end  for  end. 

"  You've  got  him,"  from  astern,  is  en- 
couraging, yet  I  have  my  doubts ;  an 
honest  opinion  would  have  brought  the 
confession  that  I  was  in  the  toils.  But  the 
flurry  was  the  last.  Several  sweeps  around 
the  boat,  and  the  black  sea-bass  lay  along- 
174 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

side,  covering  boat  and  men  with  flying 
spray  with  strokes  of  its  powerful  tail. 

"  It  is  a  small  one,"  ejaculates  my  man, 
wiping  the  spray  from  his  face.  Imagine 
a  small-mouthed  black  bass  enlarged,  rilled 
out  in  every  direction  until  it  was  six  feet 
long,  and  plump  in  proportion  ;  tint  it  in 
rich  dark  hues,  almost  black,  with  a  lighter 
spot  between  the  pectoral  fins ;  give  it  a 
pair  of  eyes  as  large  as  those  of  an  ox,  pow- 
erful fins  and  tail,  a  massive  head,  ponder- 
ous, almost  toothless  jaws,  and  you  have 
the  black  sea-bass,  or  Jew  fish  -  -  the  best 
fighter,  the  largest  bony  fish  in  Pacific 
waters.  Too  large  to  be  taken  into  the 
boat,  it  had  to  be  towed  in  ;  and  finally, 
after  being  stunned  with  an  axe  after  the 
quieting  method  applied  to  muskallonge 
in  the  St.  Lawrence,  we  got  under  way, 
the  huge  body  floating  uncomfortably  be- 
hind, materially  retarding  the  progress. 

The  entry  to  Avalon  Harbor  was  one  of 
triumph,  as  at  that  season  the  capture  of  a 
black  sea-bass  was  a  new  thing  to  visitors ; 
and  as  the  magnificent  creature  was  hauled 
up  on  the  sands  by  willing  hands,  the  en- 
tire population  gathered  about  to  listen  to 
the  details  of  the  sport.  Then  came  the 
weighing.  "  Three  hundred  and  forty- 
two  and  a  half,  sir,"  said  a  Mexican  youth 

175 


The  Haunts  of  the  Black  Sea-Bass 

who  had  triced  the  fish  up ;   "  better  than 
the  average."     Glory  enough  for  one  day. 

During  this  summer,  at  Santa  Catalina, 
about  twenty  of  these  fish  were  caught, 
ranging  from  eighty  pounds  to  three  hun- 
dred and  fifty.  All  were  females,  ready  to 
spawn,  and  had  come  in  to  Pebble  Beach 
for  this  purpose,  depositing  their  eggs  in 
August  and  September.  This  locality  has 
always  been  a  famous  place  for  them,  and 
ten  thousand  pounds  were  taken  there  in 
a  single  day  four  years  ago.  At  that  time 
there  was  a  systematic  fishery,  the  meat 
being  dried,  and  —  tell  it  not  in  Gath  !  — 
sold  as  boneless  cod.  My  oarsmen  in- 
formed me  that  the  bass  had  been  fright- 
ened off.  These  fishermen  killed  the  fish 
on  the  spot,  throwing  the  heads  overboard  ; 
and  so  the  bass  left,  only  comparatively  few 
having  been  seen  since. 

This  is  a  native  version.  The  fish  un- 
doubtedly migrate,  going  into  deeper  water 
during  the  winter,  or  possibly  to  the  south. 

It  is  often  said  that  there  is  little  pleas- 
ure in  taking  deep-sea  fish  ;  but  to  capture 
the  black  sea-bass,  free-handed,  play  it 
fairly,  and  bring  it  to  the  gaff,  is  an  ex- 
perience that  well  compares  in  sport  and 
excitement  with  hand-line  tarpon-fishing 
on  the  Gulf  coast. 

176 


TARPON    FISHING 
IN    FLORIDA 

By  Robert  Grant 


Hotel  at  St.  James  City. 

T  is  likely  that  to  ninety-nine 
persons  out  of  every  hundred, 
even  though  piscatorially  in- 
clined, the  terms  "  tarpon  "  and 
"  tarpon-fishing  "  will  convey  no 
meaning.  Twelve  years  ago  no  one  could 
boast  of  having  taken  a  tarpon  with  rod 
and  reel ;  and  although  the  sport  is  now 
tolerably  familiar  to  devoted  anglers,  the 
average  individual  who  counts  on  get- 
ting away  for  a  fortnight  in  the  course 
of  the  year  to  kill  something  in  the  fish 

179 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida, 

line  is  still  likely  to  inquire,  "What  is  a 
tarpon  ?" 

The  tarpon  is  a  fish,  known  to  natural- 
ists as  Mega/ops  thrissoides,  ranging  from 
fifty  to  two  hundred  pounds  in  weight, 
and  from  four  and  one-half  to  over  six  feet 
in  length  ;  not  unlike  a  cross  between  a 
huge  herring--  to  which  family  it  belongs 
—  and  a  huge  bluefish  in  its  general  pro- 
portions, with  large,  protuberant  eyes  and 
an  ugly  mouth  that  opens  on  the  fish's 
nose,  so  to  speak,  covered  on  either  side 
with  a  hard,  bony,  semicircular  flap  that 
gives  the  effect  of  a  jowl.  Behind,  and 
contiguous  to  the  dorsal  fin,  is  a  sort  of 
bony  bayonet  called  the  "feather,"  some 
eight  or  nine  .inches  long,  that  protrudes 
into  the  air  in  the  direction  of  the  tail, 
forming  an  acute  angle  with  the  line  of 
the  back.  The  body  is  covered  with 
brilliant  argentine  scales,  which  give  the 
fish  the  effect  of  having  been  laved  in  sil- 
ver, and  which  have  won  for  it  the  title 
of  the  "  Silver  King."  These  scales, 
which  are  circular  and  slightly  scalloped 
on  the  part  of  the  edge  that  is  overlapped, 
vary  from  one  inch  to  three  inches  and  a 
half  across.  The  silvery  epidermis  covers 
only  the  exposed  portion,  which  is  about 
one-fourth  of  the  circumference.  The 

180 


Tarpon  Pishing  in  Florida. 

remaining  surface  is  a  slightly  yellowish- 
white,  not  dissimilar  in  hue  to  mother- 
of-pearl,  though  without  its  iridescence ; 
translucent,  but  not  transparent,  and  shiny 
on  the  inner  side.  They  are  hard,  thin, 
and  of  shell-like  fibre.  After  being  re- 
moved from  the  fish  and  dried,  they  curl 
up  so  as  to  remind  one  of  a  Saratoga  chip, 
but  will,  if  moistened  and  compressed,  re- 
gain, at  least  for  a  short  time,  their  former 
shape.  The  extreme  brilliancy  of  the  sil- 
very portion  becomes  tarnished  by  degrees, 
inclining  either  to  yellow  or  black  ;  but 
the  permanent  color  is  still  beautiful  and 
astonishing.  The  back  of  the  fish  is  black, 
and  the  silvery  effect  gradually  begins  at  a 
line  well  above  the  eye. 

Some  anglers  have  seen  fit  to  perpetu- 
ate their  triumphs  by  having  specimens  of 
these  monsters  mounted  on  a  panel,  which 
is  accomplished  by  splitting  the  fish  in 
two,  leaving  an  ample  margin  at  top  and 
bottom,  and  treating  the  necessary  half 
with  arsenic  and  other  condiments  prized 
by  the  taxidermist.  They  form  magnifi- 
cent trophies  for  the  hall  or  dining-room 
of  a  large  house ;  and  when  gazing  at  a 
hundred-pound  tarpon,  which  is  certainly 
rather  below  than  above  the  average  weight 
of  the  fish,  one  finds  difficulty  in  believing 

181 


Tarpon  Pishing  in  Florida 

that  it  has  been  captured  with  rod  and  reel. 
Beside  it  the  lordly  salmon  seems  to  sink 
into  insignificance.  They  are  sometimes 
eaten,  but  not  with  avidity  by  those  who 
have  tried  them  before,  as  the  flesh  is 
coarse. 

In  a  book  on  fishes,  published  in  New 
York  in  1884,  appears  the  following  state- 
ment: "  Imagine  a  herring-shaped  fish  five 
or  six  feet  long,  with  brilliant  silvery  scales 
the  size  of  half  a  dollar,  in  schools  of  a 
dozen  or  twenty,  leaping  from  the  blue  sur- 
face of  a  summer  sea.  This  is  all  that  the 
angler  usually  sees  of  the  tarpon.  Some- 
times one  of  these  glittering,  rushing  mon- 
sters takes  the  hook.  What  follows  ?  The 
line  runs  out  with  great  speed  till  it  has 
all  left  the  reel,  where  it  parts  at  its  weak- 
est point,  and  the  fish  goes  off  leaping 
seaward.  When  hooked  on  a  hand-line 
similar  results  follow.  No  man  is  strong 
enough  to  hold  a  large  tarpon  unless  he  is 
provided  with  a  drag  or  buoy  in  the  shape 
of  an  empty  keg  attached  to  the  line, 
which  may  retard  or  even  stop  the  fish 
after  a  while.  Aided  by  a  buoy,  the  tar- 
pon is  sometimes  taken  with  a  harpoon  or 
seines/'  Since  this  declaration  was  made, 
evidently  in  full  sincerity,  probably  no  less 
than  one  hundred  tarpon  have  been  killed 
182 


The  Reel. 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florifa 

with  the  rod  and 
reel,  to  say  noth- 
ing  of 
the  un- 
scientific 
hand -line. 
To    Mr. 
W.     H. 
Wood,    a 
New    York 
gentleman,  belongs 

the  honor  of  having  been  the  first  to  cap- 
ture one  with  sportsman's  tackle  ;  an  event 
to  which  the  London  Observer  of  Aug. 
25,  1886,  refers  in  the  following  enthusi- 
astic language  :  "  Here,  at  last,  there  is  a 
rival  to  the  black  bass  of  North  America, 
to  the  Silurus  glanis  of  the  Danube,  to  our 
own  European  salmon,  and  possibly  even 
to  the  sturgeon,  were  that  monster  capable 
of  taking  a  hook  and  holding  it  in  its  leach- 
like  sucker  of  a  mouth.  Sportsmen  may 
yet  go  to  Florida  for  the  tarpon,  as  they 
now  go  to  the  Arctic  zone  for  the  rein- 
deer, walrus,  and  musk-ox."  (By  the  way, 
why  does  the  Observer  claim  for  Europe 
sole  proprietary  rights  in  the  salmon  ?) 
Up  to  the  present  date  the  largest  tarpon 
taken  with  rod  and  reel  was  one  killed  by 
Mr.  John  G.  Hecksher  of  New  York, 
183 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

which  is  recorded  on  the  score-book  at  St. 
James  City  as  weighing  one  hundred  and 
eighty-four  pounds.  Somewhat  larger  fish 
have  been  taken  with  the  hand-line  and  in 
seines,  but  there  is  no  authentic  testimony 
that  they  exceed  two  hundred  pounds. 

The  field  of  battle  is  the  seacoast  of 
southwestern  Florida.  The  tarpon,  or 
tarpum  (for  the  fish  is  known  popularly 
by  either  name),  has  its  habitat  (according 
to  the  valuable  compilation  "  The  Fish- 
eries and  Fishery  Industries  of  the  United 
States,"  1884)  in  the  western  Atlantic  and 
in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  ranging  north  to 
Cape  Cod,  and  south  at  least  to  north- 
ern Brazil.  It  is  somewhat  abundant  in 
the  West  Indies,  and  stragglers  have  been 
taken  as  far  to  the  eastward  as  the  Bermu- 
das. It  is  the  "  Silver-fish  "  of  Pensacola, 
the  "  Grande  Ecaille "  (large-scale  fish), 
or  "  Grandy  Kye,"  as  it  is  pronounced, 
and  sometimes  spelled,  and  the  "Savanilla" 
of  Texas.  Those  interested  in  the  fish 
from  the  angler's  standpoint  have  con- 
fined their  attention  to  the  waters  of  Char- 
lotte Harbor  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and 
southwestern  coast  of  Florida.  Here  the 
fish  are  found  in  comparative  abundance, 
though  the  same  is  unquestionably  true  of 
that  coast  still  farther  to  the  south  from 
184 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 


The  Cast. 


Punta  Rassa  to  Whitewater  Bay ;  for  the 
sport  is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  compara- 
tively few  fishermen  have  made  investiga- 
tions on  their  own  account,  being  content 
to  try  their  fortunes  where  others  have 
been  successful.  There  seems  every  rea- 
son to  believe,  however,  that  although  the 
tarpon  is  known  on  the  eastern  coast  of 
Florida,  its  favorite  waters  are  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico ;  and  whoever  wishes  to  catch 
it  is  likely  to  fare  better  there  than  if 
he  goes  to  Jupiter,  Lake  Worth,  and  the 
other  points  on  the  southeastern  coast  so 
deservedly  famed  for  fishing  of  many  other 
kinds. 

At    present    there    are    two    recognized 
tarpon  fishing-grounds,   or  rather  fishing- 

185 


lArpon  Pishing  in  Florida 

camps,  —  for  the  waters  fished  by  the  fre- 
quenters of  each  are  adjacent,  —  St.  James 
City  and  Punta  Rassa.  Looking  at  the 
map  of  southwestern  Florida,  you  will  no- 
tice, at  some  distance  to  the  southward  of 
Tampa,  Charlotte  Harbor,  lying  between 
the  26th  and  2/th  parallels  of  latitude, 
which  extends  no  less  than  thirty  miles 
from  north  to  south,  and  varies  from  ten 
to  fifteen  miles  in  width.  It  is  protected 
on  its  westerly  side  by  the  islands  or  keys 
Gasparilla,  La  Costa,  Captiva,  and  Sanibel, 
which  form  a  sort  of  natural  barrier  against 
the  storms  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  ;  and 
within  these  comparatively  peaceful  waters 
is  situated  Pine  Island,  fourteen  miles  in 
length,  and  from  two  to  four  in  breadth, 
on  the  southerly  end  of  which  is  St.  James 
City,  so  called,  a  village  that  owes  its  pres- 
ent flourishing  condition  to  the  enthusiasm 
of  tarpon  fishermen.  Opposite  to  it,  to 
the  southeast,  on  the  mainland,  and  but  a 
few  miles  distant,  is  Punta  Rassa,  the  other 
resort.  Excepting  yachtsmen  who  live  on 
board  their  vessels  and  cruise  along  the 
coast,  persons  desiring  to  kill  a  tarpon  have 
hitherto  made  their  headquarters  at  one 
of  these  two  places. 

At  St.  James  City,  which  is  moderately 
tropical  in  its  vegetation,  —  and  which  is 

186 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida, 

rapidly  being  made  more  so  by  the  trans- 
plantation of  baby  lime,  lemon,  pineapple, 
banana,  guava,  cocoanut,  and  other  plants 
calculated  to  inspire  the  interest  of  North- 
erners, —  there  is  a  comfortable  hotel 
maintained  by  Northern  proprietors.  It 
is  a  delightful  spot  from  the  angler's  point 
of  view ;  the  winter  climate  is  perfect, 
and  the  fishing  of  all  kinds  is  excellent, 
including  a  large  variety  of  fish  able  to 
offer  not  too  stout  resistance  to  the  rod 
and  reel  —  to  say  nothing  of  sharks,  Jew- 
fish,  and  other  monsters  only  too  ready  to 
carry  off  all  one's  line,  and  disappear  with- 
out showing  themselves  above  water.  La- 
dies can  accompany  their  husbands  and 
brothers  without  risk  of  being  otherwise 
than  very  comfortable,  or  even  of  being 
bored,  unless  it  is  by  the  everlasting  dis- 
cussion as  to  the  habits  of  the  "  Silver 
King"  and  the  proper  mode  of  capturing 
him,  which  goes  on  incessantly.  Punta 
Rassa  has  equal  advantages  in  the  way  of 
climate  and  facilities  for  fish,  and  is  fre- 
quented by  many  of  the  most  successful 
tarpon  fishermen.  The  "  Tarpon  House  " 
there  is  distinctly  a  sportsman's  resort,  as 
the  accommodations,  though  comfortable, 
are  as  yet  primitive. 

To  reach  either  of  these  places  you  take 
187 


Tarpon  Pishing  in  Florida 

the  train  from  Jacksonville  to  Punta  Gorda 
by  way  of  the  Jacksonville,  Tampa  &  Key 
West,  and  the  Florida  Southern  Railroads, 
a  twelve  hours'  journey.  Punta  Gorda, 
which  is  the  terminus  of  the  railroad,  is  at 
the  head  of  Charlotte  Harbor,  and  con- 
sists of  possibly  a  dozen  shanties  and  a  fine 
hotel  with  accommodations  for  five  hun- 
dred people.  All  the  rooms  are  built  on 
one  side  of  the  house,  to  command  the 
water  view.  A  long  pier  runs  out  from 
the  hotel,  off  which  all  kinds  of  fish  ex- 
cept tarpon  are  taken  in  abundance.  Tar- 
pon could  undoubtedly  be  caught  within 
a  few  miles  of  Punta  Gorda,  along  the 
Myakka  River,  and  elsewhere,  if  one  were 
to  make  a  study  of  the  fishing-ground ; 
but  anglers  prefer  to  push  on  in  the  little 
steamer  Alice  Howard,  which  starts  from 
there  three  times  a  week,  a  five  hours' 
trip,  to  St.  James  City,  and  slightly  longer 
to  Punta  Rassa.  The  company  interested 
in  the  development  of  St.  James  City  ex- 
pect to  run  a  steamer  daily  another  season, 
and  there  is  talk  of  a  railroad  later. 

Arriving  at  the  San  Carlos  Hotel,  at 
St.  James  City,  early  in  March  of  the 
present  year  (1889),  I  was  greeted  by  the 
unwelcome  information  that  tarpon  were 
very  scarce,  owing  to  the  coolness  of  the 

1*8 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

weather.  Unless  the  atmosphere  and 
water  are  warm,  they  are  not  disposed  to 
bite.  Heat  causes  them  to  run  in  from 
the  Gulf  to  cruise  along  the  coast,  pre- 
paratory to  mating  and  spawning ;  but  a 
"  norther,"  or  "  cold  wave,"  drives  them 
back  into  deep  water.  They  are  caught 
as  early  as  January,  and  from  then  the  fish- 
ing gradually  improves  as  the  weather 
grows  warmer.  Tarpon  fishermen  have 


Scale  of  a  Tarpon  (actual  size). 
I89 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

begun  to  realize  that  just  at  the  time  the 
Florida  hotel-keepers  close  their  houses 
the  fishing  becomes  very  good ;  and  in- 
stead of  going  south  in  January  or  Febru- 
ary, they  are  disposed  to  defer  their  trips 
until  the  end  of  March,  or,  better,  until 
April.  Of  course  many  will  prefer  to 
take  the  chance  of  getting  fish  at  a  season 
when  the  Southern  climate  is  most  agree- 
able, and  our  Northern  winter  most  se- 
vere ;  but  purely  from  the  standpoint  of 
sport,  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  later  one 
goes  the  more  liable  one  is  to  catch  tarpon. 
To  be  sure,  the  flies  may  then  be  disagree- 
able, and  the  weather  uncomfortably  warm; 
but,  on  the  other  hand,  it  will  not  be  ne- 
cessary to  pass  days  of  anxious  waiting  for 
the  wind  to  change  and  the  water  to  rise 
to  a  proper  temperature.  Let  it  be  added 
that,  though  the  hotel  at  St.  James  City 
has  hitherto  been  closed  early  in  April, 
Mr.  Schultz  has  his  "  Tarpon  House  "  at 
Punta  Rassa  open  all  the  year  round. 

I  found  that  up  to  my  arrival,  on  March 
1 4th,  only  nine  tarpon  had  been  taken 
this  season  at  St.  James  City,  and  not  quite 
so  many,  according  to  report,  at  Punta 
Rassa.  Of  these  nine,  five  had  fallen  to 
one  rod.  There  were  about  twenty  fish- 
ermen in  the  house,  several  of  whom  had 
190 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

been  there  since  early  in  January.  One 
gentleman  had  fished  for  three  successive 
seasons  without  landing  a  tarpon.  The 
sport  is  still  so  thoroughly  in  its  infancy 
that  I  found  a  variety  of  theories  as  to 
tackle  in  process  of  being  tested.  I  had 
been  advised  at  home  to  bring  with  me  an 
ordinary  eight-and-a-half-foot  ash  sea-bass 
rod  in  three  pieces  ;  but  I  was  very  shortly 
convinced  that  a  rod  in  one  piece  is  much 
more  trustworthy,  as  the  strain  upon  the 
joints  while  playing  a  tarpon  is,  at  times, 
very  severe.  The  choice  of  the  wood  is 
largely  a  matter  for  individual  preference 
or  caprice,  though  I  believe  that  a  well- 
tested  bamboo  cannot  be  excelled  for  this 
kind  of  fishing.  Some  of  the  rods  were 
composed  of  a  short  butt  and  one  long 
joint,  which  is  preferable  to  the  three- 
jointed  rod,  but  less  effective  than  a  single 
piece.  The  length  varies  from  seven  to 
eight  and  a  half  feet ;  those  anglers  who 
aim  to  kill  their  fish  in  the  shortest  possi- 
ble time  use  as  near  an  approach  to  a  stick 
as  the  sportsmanlike  spirit  of  the  locality 
will  tolerate  without  demur  ;  but  the  am- 
bition should  now  rather  be  to  increase 
the  length  and  suppleness  of  the  rod,  so  as 
to  adopt  as  nearly  as  may  be  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  salmon-rod,  which  has  never 
191 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

yet,   I  believe,  been  successfully  tried  on 
the  "Silver  King." 

One  needs  a  large  multiplying-reel  that 
will  hold  comfortably  two  hundred  yards 
of  line,  and  is  furnished  with  a  click  that 
can  be  turned  on  and  off  at  will.  Even  if 
the  socket  in  which  it  is  set  contains  a 
pin,  the  reel  should  be  lashed  on,  and  a 
leather  drag  should  be  securely  stitched  to 
one  of  the  inner  bars  of  the  reel,  whether 
one  uses  a  thumb-stall  or  not.  It  will  also 
be  found  convenient  to  have  the  handle 
long  enough  to  protect  one's  fingers  from 
contact  with  the  side  of  the  reel.  I  used 
a  fifteen-thread  linen  line,  which  is  strong 
enough  —  though  most  of  the  fishermen 
at  St.  James  City  were  supplied  with 
eighteen  and  twenty-one  thread ;  and  for 
a  hook  one  cannot  improve  on  a  10/0 
Dublin  bend,  Limerick  forged  and  ringed. 
The  serious  point  of  controversy,  and  the 
one  which  still  remains  to  be  solved,  is  as 
to  the  material  of  the  snood  or  snell  con- 
necting the  line  with  the  hook.  The 
tarpon  has  a  bony  mouth,  in  which  no 
hook  will  take  firm  hold  ;  and  it  is  there- 
fore absolutely  necessary  to  let  the  fish 
gorge  the  bait  in  order  to  have  any  chance 
of  securing  him.  Moreover,  although  the 
tarpon  has  no  teeth,  its  lips,  or  the  flaps 
192 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

which  clothe  either  cheek,  and  which  at 
the  corners  become  veritable  "scissors," 
are  so  excessively  hard  and  corrugated  that 
the  ordinary  line  would  chafe  off  or  be 
snipped  off  in  a  very  short  time.  It  is 
necessary,  therefore,  to  supplement  the  line 
with  some  sort  of  snood,  about  twenty- 
seven  inches  long,  in  order  to  allow  for 
the  gorging  of  the  hook.  A  variety  of 
devices  has  been  tried.  It  was  thought 
that  small  chains  would  answer  the  pur- 
pose, until  it  was  demonstrated  that  sharks 
and  kindred  pests,  which  are  just  as  likely 
to  take  the  bait  as  a  tarpon,  cannot  be  got 
rid  of  without  cutting  the  line,  whereas 
they  will  immediately  bite  off  any  softer 
substance  than  metal.  It  is  said,  also,  that 
the  tarpon  is  apt  to  feel  the  chain,  and  to 
throw  out  the  bait  before  it  is  gorged.  At 
any  rate,  experienced  anglers  have  dis- 
carded them.  The  present  judgment  is 
in  favor  of  a  laid  cotton  line  that  is  practi- 
cally a  cod-line  of  --inch  or  even  -^-inch 
diameter.  This,  it  is  claimed,  will  endure 
the  action  of  the  tarpon's  lips  for  a  long 
period,  and  yet  yield  instantly  to  the  teeth 
of  a  shark.  But  while  it  has  proved  fairly 
satisfactory,  I  was  advised  by  the  gentle- 
man who  had  landed  five  out  of  the  nine 
tarpon  taken  this  season,  to  wrap  my  g-i 

195 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

snood  with  fine  copper  wire.  This  I  did, 
although  some  of  the  other  fishermen  shook 
their  heads,  declaring  that  a  shark  would 
not  be  able  to  cut  the  wire ;  but  my  ad- 
viser was  of  the  contrary  opinion,  though 
he  was  inclined  to  believe  that  a  ^-inch 
cod-line,  tightly  laid,  ought  to  be  stout 
enough  to  render  wire  unnecessary.  The 
snoods  which  he  had  of  this  kind  were 
very  hard,  and  unlike  those  generally  in 
use,  which  being  loosely  laid  had  the 
effect  of  being  soft  and  yielding.  I  was 
disposed  to  think  that  his  were  the  best, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  would  offer 
more  direct  resistance  while  chafing.  One 
or  two  other  anglers  thought  they  had 
solved  the  difficulty  by  incasing  the  snood 
with  rubber,  on  the  theory  that  thus  there 
would  be  no  chance  for  friction  ;  but  there 
was  evidence  that  this  contrivance  had  not 
proved  particularly  efficacious.  Indeed,  the 
whole  question  of  snoods  is  in  embryo. 
It  seems  desirable  that  the  cotton  snoods 
should  be  blackened  a  little,  so  as  to  be- 
come, when  soaked,  as  near  the  color  of 
the  water  as  possible.  As  tarpon  are  shy 
fish,  one  cannot  be  too  careful  of  frighten- 
ing them. 

I  was  called  with  the  rest,  on  the  morn- 
ing after  my  arrival,  so  as  to  be  able  to 
196 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

get  away  from  the  house  at  about  seven. 
There  is  said  to  be  no  advantage  in  an 
early  start,  except  that  the  first  boats  off 
obtain  the  choice  of  grounds  ;  tarpon  are 
more  likely  to  bite  on  the  flood  tide  than 
at  any  especial  time  of  day.  Each  angler 
has  his  man  and  boat,  an  ordinary  lap- 
streak  row-boat  about  eight  feet  in  length, 
such  as  is  commonly  used  at  seaside  re- 
sorts. There  is,  of  course,  a  considerable 
choice  in  guides  ;  and  it  is  important  for 
a  novice  to  get  a  skilful  boatman,  who 
knows  the  grounds.  The  hotel  is  about 
one-third  of  a  mile  from  the  wharf,  and 
for  the  convenience  of  everybody  a  wag- 
onet  and  pair  makes  trips  perpetually  for 
a  trifling  remuneration.  The  pier,  as  at 
Punta  Gorda,  juts  out  several  hundred  yards, 
and  from  the  end  of  it  sheep's-head  are 
taken  in  profusion.  Only  a  few  days  be- 
fore my  arrival  a  large  leopard  shark  had 
been  hooked  and  landed  from  the  same 
place. 

The  tarpon  grounds  lie  anywhere  from 
two  to  eight  miles  from  the  pier.  My 
boatman  —  a  white  man,  as  most  of  the 
boatmen  at  St.  James  City  are  —  advised 
our  trying  the  nearest,  Matalacha  Pass,  as 
it  was  called.  The  best  places  for  fishing 
at  this  season  are  on  the  points  of  the 

197 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

oyster-bed  bars  in  the  shallower  water  on 
the  edge  of  the  channel.  The  fish  come 
in  with  the  tide,  and  follow  the  winding 
channel,  which  runs  close  to  the  bars. 
The  whole  harbor  is  intersected  by  these 
oyster-beds  ;  and  there  are  many  sand-keys 
and  numerous  islands  completely  covered 
with  mangrove  bushes,  which  seem  to 
spring  out  of  the  sea,  so  deeply  are  the 
roots  immersed.  The  mangrove  is  ex- 
tremely prolific,  and  is  largely  in  excess  of 
all  other  growths  in  this  neighborhood. 

I  anchored  by  chance  not  far  from  the 
gentleman  who  had  killed  the  five  tarpon, 
and  very  soon  another  angler  took  up  a 
position  some  two  hundred  yards  in  my 
rear.  There  was  good  fishing  for  all  three 
boats,  my  guide  said ;  but  it  is  an  unwrit- 
ten law  that  when  a  tarpon  is  hooked,  the 
other  boats  on  the  ground  shall  be  kept 
out  of  the  way  of  the  fortunate  man.  I 
observed  that  each  of  my  rivals  had  two 
rods  in  use,  one  of  which  was  tended  by 
the  boatman,  although  the  process  of  tend- 
ing is  a  very  simple  one  until  a  fish  takes 
hold. 

Some  one  has  well  described  the  waiting 

experience  in  tarpon-fishing  as  "sitting  in 

a  Turkish  bath  looking  at  a  string."     You 

bait  your  hook  with  a  collop  of  mullet,  and 

198 


l'~i shine  in  Florida 


cast  just  as  you  would  for  striped  bass,  let- 
ting the  bait  sink  to  the  bottom.  You 
give  a  little  slack,  and  then  you  have  noth- 
ing to  do  but  sit  still  until  something  hap- 
pens. You  may  sit  still  the  whole  day 
without  anything  happening.  I  did  :  not 
a  single  genuine  bite  did  I  have  from  half- 
past  seven  until  half-past  four  ;  and  though 
it  was  not  particularly  hot,  my  man  Pierce 
said  that  it  usually  was,  and  that  I  should 
do  wisely  in  supplying  myself  before  start- 
ing out  again  with  a  broad-brimmed  Pan- 
ama hat,  such  as  every  one  else  wore. 

At  first  it  was  rather  interesting.  My 
reel  unfortunately  was  without  a  click,  and 
the  action  of  the  tide  made  the  line  run 
out  a  little,  unless  I  kept  my  finger  firmly 
on  it;  so  that,  as  I  had  been  told  that  a 
tarpon  begins  by  stealing  off  quietly,  I  had 
numerous  false  alarms,  thinking  every  now 
and  then  that  something  was  trifling  with 
my  bait.  In  the  meantime  my  boatman 
was  cutting  up  mullet,  and  throwing  it 
overboard  to  attract  the  fish  to  our  neigh- 
borhood. Mullet  is  the  only  bait  they  are 
known  to  take.  He  also  suggested  put- 
ting out  a  hand-line,  as  I  had  only  one  of 
my  rods  with  me  ;  but  this  I  forbade,  not 
wishing  to  diminish  my  chances  of  land- 
ing a  tarpon  with  rod  and  reel.  Forty- 

199 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

eight  hours  later,  as  it  happened,  two 
gentlemen  who  were  using  a  hand-line 
in  addition  to  three  rods,  had  their  only 
strike  of  the  day  on  the  hand-line,  very 
much  to  their  disgust.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  changing  the  bait  about  once  an 
hour,  as  it  becomes  water-soaked,  there  is 
nothing  to  do  but  be  patient.  Instead  of 
a  tarpon,  one  may  hook  a  shark,  a  large 
channel  bass,  or  a  grouper.  Small  fish 
are  not  apt  to  bite  on  the  tarpon  grounds, 
but  sharks  are  often  very  troublesome. 
During  the  present  season  a  gentleman 
who  was  fishing  with  his  rods  chanced  to 
hook  simultaneously  a  tarpon  and  a  shark. 
Although  the  tarpon  jumped  out  of  the 
water,  he  was  for  some  moments  unable, 
owing  to  the  crossing  of  the  lines,  to  dis- 
cern which  fish  was  on  which,  so  as  to  cut 
off  the  unwelcome  visitor.  A  tarpon  in- 
variably reveals  himself  by  jumping  out 
of  water  as  soon  as  he  feels  the  hook. 
More  tarpon  are  lost  by  premature  tension 
of  the  line  than  through  any  other  cause. 
The  novice  is  properly  cautioned  by  every- 
body to  let  a  tarpon  carry  off  some  half  a 
dozen  fathoms  of  line  before  checking 
him  in  the  least.  Usually  the  fish  hooks 
himself,  and  is  only  too  apt  to  feel  the 
hook  before  the  bait  is  gorged,  in  which 


200 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 


He  "was  six  feet  long,  and  "weighed  one  hundred  and  thirty-two  pounds, 

case  he  leaps  out  of  water,  and  shakes 
his  head  violently  in  attempts  to  get  rid 
of  it  —  attempts  which  are  sure  to  be  suc- 
cessful in  case  the  barb  be  not  well  lodged 
in  his  gullet.  After  forty  or  fifty  feet  have 
run  out,  one  may  safely  strike,  and  drive 
the  hook  home  into  whatever  the  prize 
may  be.  If  nothing  shows  itself,  and  the 
line  flies  out  at  a  terrible  rate,  you  have 
probably  got  a  shark,  which,  unless  very 
large,  you  can  doubtless  drown  if  you 
wish,  if  the  disagreeable  customer  does  not 
relieve  you  of  his  presence  by  biting  off 


201 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

the  hook.  As  a  matter  of  practice  you 
will  be  likely  to  cut  the  line  yourself 
without  further  ado.  A  large  channel 
bass  of  twenty  or  thirty  pounds  also  will 
occasionally  take  the  bait,  or  a  grouper  — 
a  delicious  fish  of  the  perch  family,  that 
makes  very  stout  resistance  for  its  size, 
which  does  not  exceed  fifteen  pounds. 
The  tactics  of  the  grouper  are  to  get  into 
a  hole  or  cave,  from  which  it  can  be  dis- 
lodged, if  at  all,  only  with  great  difficulty. 
My  neighbor  of  the  five  tarpon  hooked 
two  groupers  in  the  course  of  the  fore- 
noon, and  preferred  in  each  instance  to 
cut  his  line  rather  than  waste  time  in  trying 
to  bring  them  to  terms.  While  we  were 
fishing  for  tarpon,  the  wife  of  this  same 
angler  was  trolling  with  a  light  rod  in  the 
near  distance  with  great  success,  taking 
every  few  minutes  one  of  the  many  lively 
fish,  channel  bass  (redfish)  "  sea  trout" 
(squeteauge  or  weakfish),  cavalli,  and  oth- 
ers with  which  the  water  of  Charlotte  Har- 
bor abounds.  Later  in  the  day  her  example 
was  imitated  by  both  of  my  companions ; 
but  I  was  advised  by  my  guide  to  remain 
at  my  post,  for  the  reason  that  a  tarpon 
might  take  hold  at  any  moment.  He  in- 
timated that  it  was  too  much  the  custom 
for  sportsmen,  after  having  fished  for  tar- 


202 


Tarfon  Fishing  in  Florida 

pon  two  or  three  nours,  to  be  willing  to 
sacrifice  the  chances  of  big  game  to  the 
paltry  satisfaction  of  filling  one's  boat  with 
ordinary  fish.  I  was  Spartan  enough  to 
act  upon  his  counsel,  even  to  the  extent 
of  eating  my  luncheon  in  the  boat  with 
my  finger  still  on  the  line,  without  going 
ashore.  About  one  o'clock,  when  the 
tide  turned,  I  shifted  my  position  to  an- 
other ground  about  a  mile  distant,  where 
Pierce  thought  we  should  be  more  likely 
to  hook  fish  returning  with  the  ebb  ;  and 
there  I  remained  until  nearly  five  o'clock, 
without  getting  a  bite  of  any  kind. 

It  was  hardly  inconsistent  with  good- 
fellowship  that  I  did  not  feel  any  keen 
regrets  to  find,  on  reaching  the  hotel,  that 
no  one  of  the  fifteen  other  fishermen  had 
fared  any  better  than  I  as  regards  tarpon. 
The  landing-stage  at  the  wharf  was  cov- 
ered with  small  fish,  of  from  two  to  ten 
pounds  weight,  but  no  one  could  boast  of 
having  even  hooked  a  "  Silver  King."  The 
general  verdict  was  that  the  atmosphere 
and  water  were  still  a  little  cool  for  good 
tarpon-fishing. 

The  next  morning  dawned  warm  and 

beautiful.       I    was  up  betimes,  with    the 

intent  of  visiting  a  more   distant  ground 

known  as  the  "Six-mile  Rookery,"  where 

203 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

I  again  found  myself  in  company  with  the 
champion  fisherman  of  the  season,  whose 
wife,  by  the  by,  had  the  ill-luck  in  the 
course  of  the  day  to  lose  a  twenty-pound 
channel  bass,  through  the  clumsiness  of 
her  boatman,  just  as  it  was  ready  for  the 
landing-net.  When  not  far  from  the 
ground,  we  noticed  numerous  shoals  of 
mullet,  which  is  a  favorable  sign  ;  and  pres- 
ently those  in  the  boat  ahead  signed  to  us 
to  be  still,  and  pointed  to  the  water,  on 
which  the  fins  of  a  troop  of  tarpon  were 
plainly  visible.  We  anchored  in  hope,  in 
spite  of  the  consciousness  that  fish  in  shoals 
do  not  take  the  hook  as  readily  as  when 
travelling  alone  or  in  small  detachments. 
We  fished  diligently  without  the  least  suc- 
cess for  some  time,  and  then  shifted  our 
ground  a  little  farther  on,  as  we  had  been 
lured  by  the  sight  of  the  tarpon  on  the 
surface  to  make  fast,  at  first,  somewhat 
short  of  the  usual  place.  Our  new  an- 
chorage was,  as  on  the  day  before,  rather 
less  than  a  fourth  of  a  mile  from  shore, 
and  in  water  not  more  than  ten  or  twelve 
feet  deep.  Here  let  me  add  that  later  in 
the  season,  when  the  weather  has  grown 
hot,  tarpon  are  taken  in  the  shallow  water 
close  to  the  shore  as  well  as  on  the  edges 
of  the  oyster-reefs.  I  had  two  rods  with 
204 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

me  on  this  day,  so  as  not  to  throw  away 
any  chances,  and  suggested  to  my  man  the 
advisability  of  lashing  on  my  reels ;  but  he 
scoffed  at  the  idea.  Out  went  the  hooks 
well  furnished  with  fresh  mullet,  and 
again  we  abandoned  ourselves  to  waiting. 
Again,  too,  we  waited  in  vain  ;  waited  in 
the  hot  sun,  for  it  was  warm  at  last,  and  I 


was  glad  to  don  my  new  shade-hat.  We 
had  no  bites  ;  and  yet  the  situation  was  tol- 
erably exciting,  from  the  fact  that  every 
now  and  then  a  tarpon  would  spring  out 
of  water  on  one  side  of  us  or  the  other, 
and  fall  back  with  a  grand  splash,  never 
very  near  to  us,  and  yet  sufficiently  so  to 
fill  us  with  hope  of  better  things,  although, 
205 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

as  an  old  salmon  fisherman,  I  knew  that 
jumping  fish  are  not  apt  to  bite.  Still  it 
was  a  great  deal  to  be  sure  that  they  were 
there.  Three  hours  passed,  and  it  was 
luncheon-time  again.  Rather  despond- 
ently, I  must  confess,  did  I  masticate  the 
sandwiches,  doughnuts,  hard-boiled  eggs, 
grape-fruit,  and  bananas  which  my  din- 
ner-pail contained.  Just  as  I  had  finished, 
there  was  another  splash.  A  tarpon  had 
jumped  behind  us  not  more  than  two  hun- 
dred yards  away.  My  companion  almost 
immediately  pulled  up  his  anchor ;  but 
instead  of  moving  to  where  the  fish  had 
jumped,  as  I  expected,  put  his  boat  to- 
ward the  shore.  "  He  has  gone  ashore 
to  fish  for  mullet,"  said  my  man.  Where- 
upon I  recalled  that  he  had  expressed  the 
intention  of  spending  the  early  part  of  the 
night  on  the  ground,  for  tarpon  will  bite 
by  moonlight ;  then  the  tide  would  be  at 
the  flood  again,  for  now  it  was  beginning 
to  ebb.  His  guide  had  a  seine  with  him, 
with  which  he  was  able  to  snare  bait  from 
the  shoals  of  mullet  by  wading  knee-deep 
and  casting  it  over  them. 

However,  although  the  outlook  was  not 
promising,   we   shifted    our   anchorage  to 
where  the  last  tarpon  had  made  his  splash, 
and  put  out  our  hooks  again. 
206 


Tarj>on  Fishing  in  Florida 

It  was  unrefreshingly  hot,  and  just  about 
slack  water,  scarcely  ebbing  at  all ;  and 
there  we  sat  for  another  hour,  until,  rather 
wearied  at  the  monotony  of  the  thing,  I 
began  to  practise  casting,  in  which  I  was 
not  very  proficient.  The  other  rod  lay 
between  me  and  my  boatman,  under  his 
supervision.  I  was  reeling  in  my  line 
after  a  short,  abortive  cast,  when  suddenly 
Pierce  made  an  exclamation,  and  I  turned 
to  see  his  line  running  out  rapidly ;  so  rap- 
idly, in  fact,  that  the  handle  of  the  reel 
knocked  a  piece  out  of  his  forefinger.  He 
reached  me  the  rod;  and  just  after  I  had 
seized  it,  taking  care  to  exert  no  pressure, 
a  large  silvery  mass  leaped  out  of  water 
straight  into  the  air  and  fell  back  again. 

"A  tarpon,  and  a  big  fellow!"  cried 
Pierce. 

In  considering  any  statement  as  to  the 
height  a  fish  jumps  out  of  water,  it  is  im- 
portant to  know  whether  the  narrator  has 
included  the  length  of  the  fish  in  making 
up  his  figures.  That  is  to  say,  if  a  fish  is 
six  feet  long,  and  leaps  from  its  native  ele- 
ment so  that  the  tip  of  its  tail  is  two  feet 
clear  of  the  surface,  good  story-tellers  will 
claim  that  it  has  jumped  eight  feet  out  of 
water.  Others  will  take  oath  to  only  two. 
It  is  sufficient  to  state  that  the  tarpon  in 

207 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

question  jumped  either  two  feet  or  eight, 
according  to  the  individual  preference  of 
the  reader.  At  that  time  he  had  taken 
out  with  velocity  about  fifty  yards  of  line  ; 
the  leap  terminated  his  first  rush,  and  I 
had  an  opportunity  to  reel  in  about  a 
fourth  of  the  amount  before  he  started  off 
again.  Meantime  my  man  had  hauled  up 
the  anchor,  and  we  were  in  process  of  be- 
ing towed  by  the  big  fish,  whose  frantic 
efforts  to  escape  were  making  the  reel  re- 
volve at  a  famous  rate.  From  long  expe- 
rience with  salmon,  I  knew  enough  to 
keep  the  point  of  my  rod  as  high  as  possi- 
ble consistent  with  the  heavy  strain;  and 
the  moment  the  rush  diminished  in  inten- 
sity I  clapped  my  finger  onto  the  leather 
drag,  and  resisted  stoutly,  reeling  in  every 
inch  of  line  that  I  could  recover.  But 
before  long  he  was  off*  once  more  in  mad 
career,  and  out  of  water,  viciously  shaking 
his  head  in  determined  efforts  to  spit  out 
the  hook.  His  failure  to  do  this  after  a 
series  of  endeavors  showed  that  he  had 
swallowed  the  bait,  and  that  my  chief 
concern  now  should  be  as  to  the  strength 
of  my  tackle. 

His  first  two  rushes  were  the  fiercest, 
and  he  did  not  at  any  time  during  the  en- 
counter carry  out  over  one  hundred  and 
208 


Fishing  in  Florida 


fifty  feet  of  line;  but 
after  checking 
him,  while 
it  was  com- 
paratively 
easy    to 
hold  him 
steady  on 
a     taut 
line,     al- 
lo  wing 
him    to 
tow     us 
quietly 


Saw  Fish  on  tJte  Pier  at  St. 
James  City. 


along,  I  found  serious  diffi- 
culty in  getting  him  nearer  the 
boat.  The  result  of  bearing  on  him 
with  the  rod,  or,  in  fishing  parlance,  giv- 
ing him  the  butt,  was  to  start  him  off  in 
hot  haste.  I  have  since  been  informed 
that  experienced  tarpon  fishermen  force 
the  fighting  from  start  to  finish,  never 
allowing  the  victim  to  rest,  but  inducing 
him  to  exhaust  himself  by  constant  ex- 
cursions. Moreover,  they  gain  on  him 
inch  by  inch  by  lowering  the  point  of  the 


209 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida, 

rod  toward  the  water  when  the  line  is  taut, 
and  then  raising  it  again  with  energy, 
reeling  vigorously  at  the  same  time.  Such 
a  proceeding  with  a  salmon  would  be  apt 
to  snap  the  gut  casting-line,  or  break  the 
tip ;  and  I  was  afraid  to  indulge  in  it  in 
this  case,  not  knowing  what  my  tackle 
would  stand.  Consequently,  my  progress 
in  gaining  ground  on  the  monster  was 
slow.  Nevertheless,  after  half  an  hour  I 
enjoyed  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  him 
come  to  the  top  of  the  water,  putting  up 
his  nose  at  first  to  blow,  which  is  a  custom 
with  them,  and  at  last  showing  his  fin. 
Within  a  few  minutes  more  he  was  fairly 
on  the  surface  in  some  distress ;  and  vig- 
orous reeling  on  my  part  brought  him 
within  ten  feet  of  the  boat,  where  he  lay 
rolling  his  huge  tail  from  side  to  side,  fol- 
lowing the  channel,  and  dragging  us  after 
him.  At  this  time,  one  used  to  tarpon- 
fishing  would  probably  have  got  him 
within  reach  of  the  gaff,  and  perhaps  I 
should  have  succeeded  in  bringing  him 
within  reach  of  a  long  handled  one;  but 
unfortunately  that  which  my  man  had 
with  him  was  fastened  to  a  very  short 
handle.  Straining  as  much  as  I  dared,  I 
could  not  force  him  to  a  spot  where  Pierce 
could  get  a  fair  thrust  at  him.  His  Sil- 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

very  Highness  evidently  was  alarmed  by 
the  boat,  and  avoided  it  as  much  as  possi- 
ble. At  last  Pierce,  in  desperation,  struck 
at  him,  and  missed  him  ;  and  in  a  mo- 
ment the  line  was  flying  out  again,  and 
the  point  of  my  rod  was  being  dragged 
down  as  the  tarpon  plunged  into  the 
depths  again,  and  by  another  glorious  rush 
regained  all  that  I  had  won.  Then  en- 
sued a  long  up-hill  fight,  which  I  can 
compare  only  to  a  hand-to-hand  tussle 
with  a  wild  beast.  Again  and  again  did 
I  get  him  up  to  within  ten  feet  of  the 
boat,  and  again  and  again  would  he  thwart 
my  efforts  to  draw  him  nearer.  The 
thumb  and  forefinger  of  my  right  hand, 
where,  owing  to  the  shortness  of  the  han- 
dle, they  came  in  contact  with  the  screws 
and  side  of  the  reel,  were  without  skin,  and 
bleeding  profusely.  I  had  not  realized  the 
importance  of  gloves  or  thumb-stalls,  hav- 
ing always  fished  for  salmon  with  bare 
hands.  Had  it  not  been  for  the  leather 
drag,  I  could  not  have  held  him  ;  and  yet 
this,  at  the  point  where  it  was  sewed  to 
the  bar  of  the  reel,  served  to  clog  the  line, 
owing  to  the  lack  of  room  for  the  line, 
when  unevenly  wound,  to  act  freely ;  and 
only  by  reeling  desperately  hard  could  I 
wind  at  all  the  last  ten  yards.  One  should 

211 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

take  care  to  have  on  one's  reel  only  so 
much  line  as  will  work  entirely  smoothly 
under  the  bars,  making  due  allowance  for 
the  expansion  caused  by  soaking.  I  tried 
to  be  very  careful  not  to  let  my  line  be- 
come tangled,  and  to  apportionate  it  evenly 
over  the  surface  of  the  reel.  I  found  it 
convenient  to  hold  the  line  against  the  rod 
with  my  left  thumb,  while  the  fish  was 
steady,  as  it  relieved  the  pressure,  shifting 
it  to  the  drag  when  he  began  to  run. 

After  the  struggle  had  lasted  about  an 
hour  and  a  half,  I  was  appalled  by  my  reel 
suddenly  falling  from  my  rod  to  the  bot- 
tom of  the  boat.  The  rings  which  held 
it  in  place  had  slipped  out  of  position. 
The  same  misadventure  had  twice  hap- 
pened to  me  while  playing  a  salmon,  so 
that  I  was  not  so  much  fluttered  as  if  it 
had  been  a  virgin  experience ;  but  I  must 
confess  that  my  heart  sank  within  me. 
Having  hastily  picked  up  the  reel,  taking 
care  not  to  twist  the  line,  I  told  Pierce, 
who  was  standing  behind  me,  to  step  aft 
and  slip  the  rings  into  position  after  I  had 
fitted  it  into  the  socket.  Fortunately,  the 
tarpon  did  not  make  one  of  his  rushes 
during  this  ticklish  proceeding,  which  was 
successfully  accomplished. 

My   hands   were   now    becoming   very 

212 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

cramped  and  weary,  owing  in  a  measure 
to  the  stiffness  of  my  reel  caused  by  the 
clogging  of  the  line  to  which  I  have  re- 
ferred. The  big  fish  seemed  to  have  got 
his  second  wind ;  and  though  his  rushes 
were  less  frequent,  he  showed  a  disposition 
to  keep  down  in  the  deep  water  about 
thirty  feet  ahead  of  the  boat.  In  the  first 
two  hours  he  jumped  eight  times,  I  should 
say,  in  addition  to  a  series  of  five  or  six 
consecutive  skips  along  the  surface  —  a 
very  pretty  performance,  and  one  which 
indicated  that  he  was  growing  weaker. 
We  had  made  three  fruitless  attempts  to 
gaff  him,  each  of  which  might  have  been 
successful  had  the  gaff-handle  been  of 
proper  length.  It  was  curious  to  note 
how  well  the  creature  knew  the  channel ; 
he  pursued  his  winding  way  with  admira- 
ble precision.  My  position  was  in  the 
stern,  on  my  knees,  which  were  doubled 
under  me,  with  the  butt  of  my  rod  em- 
bedded between  my  thighs.  My  boat- 
man sat  at  the  oars  in  the  middle  of 
the  boat,  facing  me,  and  his  duty  was  to 
back  water  so  as  to  keep  the  stern  always 
toward  the  fish,  in  order  to  prevent  him 
from  pulling  us  sideways,  and  thus  possi- 
bly upsetting  us,  or  from  getting  under 
the  boat.  In  my  experience  with  this 

213 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

fish,  in  contradistinction  to  the  salmon,  I 
observed  that  he  always  kept  the  line  taut, 
and  never  ran  directly  toward  the  boat  so 
as  to  double  on  us,  as  a  salmon  always 
does — which  is  one  of  the  most  interest- 
ing phases  of  that  exciting  sport.  I  have 
since  been  informed  by  others  that  my 
experience  in  this  respect  was  not  the 
normal  one,  and  that  a  tarpon  will  often 
make  a  bee-line  for  his  tormentor,  even  so 
far  as  to  run  under  the  boat.  I  am  not, 
however,  entirely  convinced  as  to  the 
truth  of  this. 

After  another  quarter  of  an  hour  I  had 
the  creature  on  the  surface  once  more, 
wallowing  in  manifest  distress ;  and,  hav- 
ing drawn  him  almost  to  a  proper  spot  for 
gaffing,  was  induced  by  my  own  weari- 
ness to  urge  Pierce  to  try  another  thrust 
at  him  with  the  hook.  This  time  he 
struck  him,  but  the  iron  only  slipped  off 
the  monster,  who  glided  under  the  stern, 
giving,  at  the  same  moment,  a  swirl  of  his 
tail  that  drove  an  avalanche  of  water  in 
my  face  and  all  over  me.  One  beautiful 
scale  lay  before  me  on  the  thwart  as  a 
memorial  of  what  had  happened.  I  was 
just  able  to  make  sure  that  my  line  was 
not  entangled,  and  then  handed  the  rod 
for  a  moment  to  my  guide,  in  order  to  re- 
214 


Tarfrn  Wishing  in  Florida 

cover  my  dazed  senses.  This  momentary 
respite  was  a  great  refreshment ;  and  when 
I  took  the  rod  back  again,  I  felt  that  I, 
in  my  turn,  had  got  my  second  wind. 

I  was  determined  now  to  try  more 
strenuous  efforts ;  and  I  began  to  adopt 
the  forcing  process,  of  which  I  have  writ- 
ten earlier,  by  means  of  which  I  was  en- 
abled to  reel  in  more  line,  and  compel  my 
victim  to  approach  nearer  the  boat.  We 
had,  however,  another  half-hour's  earnest 
tussle  before  I  could  put  him  alongside 
the  gunwale,  where  Pierce  could  have  a 
deliberate  blow  at  him.  Before  this  mo- 
ment arrived  I  had  to  undergo  the  disa- 
greeable emotions  resulting  from  getting 
my  line  wound  once  round  his  body,  to 
free  which  required  care  and  cautiousness 
on  my  part.  It  is  necessary,  when  the 
fish  is  nearly  exhausted,  to  be  constantly 
on  one's  guard  that  the  huge  swinging 
tail  does  not  come  in  contact  with  and 
cut  the  line,  as  it  readily  will  do.  As  a 
final  horror  I  discerned,  when  my  line 
was  becoming  short,  what  looked  like  a 
large  knot  midway  between  the  reel  and 
the  ring  of  my  tip.  I  realized  that  if  it 
were  one,  unless  it  would  pass  through 
the  ring  I  should  probably  lose  the  fish, 
and  I  felt  very  apprehensive.  It  proved, 
215 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

however,  to  be  only  a  bit  of  dark  green 
seaweed,  which  did  not  become  an  obsta- 
cle. A  few  moments  later  Pierce  plunged 
his  gaff  into  the  water,  and  brought  it  up 
into  the  breast  of  the  noble  fighter. 

"Sit  still,  sir,"  he  said  to  me,  anticipat- 
ing, doubtless,  my  anxiety  as  to  how  he 
could  get  such  a  mammoth  creature  into 
the  boat;  then  he  canted  the  gunwale  ever 
so  little,  and  slipped  the  "Silver  King" 
over  it  as  neatly  and  easily  as  possible. 
The  poor  fish  was  nearly  dead,  and  made 
but  a  single  flap  with  his  great  tail.  He 
was  six  feet  long,  and  weighed  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-two  pounds.  It  had  been 
ten  minutes  of  three  when  I  hooked  him, 
and  it  was  now  seven  minutes  of  six,  and 
he  had  towed  us  three  miles.  As  he  lay 
on  our  way  home,  and  that  evening  at  the 
wharf,  with  the  moonlight  resting  upon 
him,  he  was  by  far  the  most  beautiful 
specimen  of  the  fish  creation  I  have  ever 
seen.  As  a  tarpon  had  not  been  landed 
for  ten  days,  some  interest  was  occasioned 
at  St.  James  City  by  his  arrival;  and  the 
gentleman  who  had  fished  for  three  sea- 
sons without  taking  one  said:  "I  do  not 
wish  to  disparage  your  skill,  but  really  you 
were  very  lucky."  I  quite  agree  with  the 
gentleman;  I  certainly  was. 
216 


Tarpon  Fishing  in  Florida 

Tarpon-fishing  is,  in  my  opinion,  the 
most  magnificent  fishing-sport  in  the 
world.  I  understand  that  veterans  at  it 
now  refuse  to  take  up  the  anchor  after 
hooking  a  fish,  preferring  to  part  com- 
pany rather  than  not  to  bring  him  up  to 
the  boat  by  force  of  rod  and  reel  only. 
As  compared  with  salmon-fishing,  the  vast 
difference  in  the  size  of  the  two  fish  is 
a  vital  factor  on  the  side  of  the  "Silver 
King."  Anglers  with  but  slight  expe- 
rience have  at  least  an  even  chance  of 
saving  a  salmon,  but  what  accomplished 
fisherman  expects  to  land  more  than  one 
tarpon  in  three  ?  If  a  salmon  were  equal 
to  a  tarpon  in  weight,  and  still  retained 
proportionately  its  activity,  it  might  be  a 
more  formidable  antagonist ;  but  forty- 
pound  salmon  are  rare,  whereas  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty  pounds  is  not  much  more 
than  the  average  weight  of  a  tarpon, 
which  shows  the  futility  of  such  an  argu- 
ment. The  manner  of  fighting  is  prac- 
tically the  same  as  regards  running  and 
leaping  ;  the  tarpon  does  not  sulk,  as  the 
salmon  is  so  fond  of  doing,  nor,  so  far  as 
my  experience  goes,  does  he  double  on 
the  angler,  which  of  course  is  an  interest- 
ing trait  in  the  salmon.  Nor,  indeed,  are 
the  surroundings  of  a  tarpon  fisherman  to 
217 


'Tarfon  Fishing  in  Florida 

be  compared  with  the  beautiful  scenery 
and  picturesque  life  on  a  Canadian  salmon 
river.  Bait  is  a  dirty  substitute  for  the  trig 
fly,  and  the  monotony  of  listless  waiting 
palls  on  one  accustomed  to  repeated  cast- 
ing. But,  all  the  same,  any  one  who  has 
hooked  and  landed  a  tarpon  can  well  af- 
ford to  smile  at  the  enthusiasm  of  any 
other  fisherman  in  creation.  Try  it  for 
yourself  and  see. 


218 


AMERICAN 
GAME-FISHES 

Vy  Leroy  Milton  Yale 


DEFINITION  of  "a 
game-fish  "  could  hard- 
ly be  made  to  suit  all 
fishermen,  or  even  all 
anglers.  The  essential 
idea  is  that  the  fish  shall 
be  caught  for  game  or 
sport,  and  not  for  food  or  gain ;  and  one 
may  accept  the  opinion  that  game-fishing 
is  "  fishing  of  every  kind  requiring  skill 
and  carried  on  humanely  and  for  enjoy- 
ment/' Angling-books,  from  Walton  and 
Venables  to  Francis  and  Norris,  speak  of 
the  gudgeon  or  "  sunny "  as  well  as  the 
trout,  the  eel  as  well  as  the  salmon.  If  a 
more  restricted  definition  be  attempted, 


221 


A  inerlcan  G.une-Fiskes 

each  restrictor  notes  those  characteristics 
of  a  game-fish  which  give  him  sport ;  and 
the  result  is  rather  an  analysis  of  the  pe- 
culiarities of  the  angler  than  of  any  defi- 
nite group  of  fishes.  Two  very  good 
essays  at  a  definition,  by  Dr.  Browne 
Goode,  may  be  combined,  and  from  them 
the  following  characteristics  selected.  A 
game-fish  should  have  beauty,  sapidity  of 
flesh,  and  a  certain  degree  of  rarity,  to 
excite  the  desire  of  the  angler,  as  well  as 
courage,  strength,  nimbleness,  and  cunning 
to  test  his  skill  in  a  contest  rendered  the 
more  even  by  delicacy  of  tackle. 

It  so  happens  that  game-fish  do  usually 
possess  beauty  of  form  or  color,  some  far 
more  than  others,  it  is  true ;  but  sapidity 
of  flesh  is  a  more  important  quality,  since 
no  true  angler  seeks  a  fish  that  is  not,  at 
the  least,  good  food ;  nor  will  he  consent 
to  the  slaughter  of  any  which  is  not  dan- 
gerous to  man  or  to  better  fish,  unless 
there  be  a  pretty  sure  prospect  that  it  will 
find  a  welcome  upon  some  table.  Adhe- 
rence to  this  rule  sometimes  cramps  sport 
in  remote  regions  where  fish  are  large  and 
abundant  and  human  mouths  few  ;  but  the 
self-denial  is  as  nothing  compared  to  the 
disgust  at  the  waste  of  fine  fish.  However 
beautiful  or  sapid  a  fish  may  be,  few  would 

222 


A  liter  lean  Game-l''isltes 


continue  to  seek  it  for  pleasure  did  it  not 
avoid  capture  by  its  cunning,  or  resist  it  by 
its  strength  or  activity.  In  fact,  to  many 
anglers,  perhaps  to  most,  this  righting  ca- 
pacity is  the  main  characteristic  of  a  game- 
fish,  as  it  might  be  in  a  pugilist.  That  it 
is  not  the  only  one  is  shown  by  the  con- 
tempt in  which  some  hard-fighting  but 
worthless  fish  are  held.  Whatever  quali- 
ties be  accepted  as  essential,  certainly  that 
fish  which  possesses  the  most  of  them,  or 
in  the  greatest  degree,  will  be  entitled  to 
the  highest  rank.  Each  angler  will  place 
his  own  estimate  upon  the  relative  value 
of  individual  qualities  ;  but  if  we  are  ever 
called  upon  to  settle  a  point  of  contested 
precedence,  that  fish,  other  things  being 
equal,  whose  habitat  is  the  most  interest- 
ing, delightful,  and  sequestered,  and  whose 
capture  involves  the  most  refreshing  exer- 
cise, shall  be  placed  first. 

All  of  the  elements  that  go  to  make  up 
this  "  gameness "  in  a  fish  vary  greatly 
according  to  various  circumstances,  and 
none  more  than  wariness  and  activity. 
The  same  fish  may  at  one  time  be  agile 
in  the  extreme,  at  another  quite  lethargic. 
But  the  change  of  mood  as  to  shyness  or 
cunning  is  even  more  striking.  The  shy- 
ness of  the  trout  is  proverbial ;  yet  I  have, 

223 


American  Game-Fishes 


after  a  fruitless  hour  of  fishing,  had  a  trout 
dash  more  than  once  between  my  very 
knees  at  the  lure  dangling  in  the  water, 
while  I  was  adjusting  my  disarranged  cast- 
ing-line. Probably  no  fish  better  exem- 
plifies this  variation  than  the  bluefish.  At 
some  seasons  hunger  or  excitement  seems 
to  deprive  them  of  all  caution  ;  and  they 
will  contend  with  insane  eagerness  for  any 
lure  —  be  it  white  rag,  pine  stick,  or  what 
not  —  which  may  be  dragged  after  a  sail- 
ing-boat. A  week  later,  perhaps,  the 
most  appetizing  morsels  which  the  angler's 
ingenuity  can  devise  tempt  them  in  vain, 
if  the  water  be  clear  enough  for  them  to 
see  the  line.  Every  experienced  angler 
for  striped  bass  can  tell  remarkable  tales 
of  the  cunning  with  which  the  bluefish 
seizes  every  piece  of  chum  that  is  meant 
for  his  betters,  but  absolutely  refuses  to 
touch  a  baited  hook  unless  he  can  first 
bite  off  the  line.  I  have  again  and  again 
had  this  fish  —  a  synonym  for  senseless 
voracity  —  in  plain  view  pick  the  bait 
piecemeal  from  my  hooks.  This  increase 
in  wariness  greatly  enhances  the  sport. 
Trolling  or  "  drailing "  for  bluefish  is 
an  exhilarating  frolic  ;  but  matching  and 
outwitting  their  cunning  with  fine  tackle 
is  really  game-fishing. 
224 


A  merican  Gamc-Fislies 


It  is  interesting  in  this  connection  to 
note  how  quickly  wariness  is  born  of  ex- 
perience. As  it  is  developed  in  much 
fished  waters,  it  might  seem  to  be  the  re- 
sult of  observation  or  of  individual  suffer- 
ing ;  but,  in  some  cases  at  least,  it  evidently 
comes  from  information  received.  For 
instance,  it  is  often  noticed  that  if  a  fresh 
run  of  sea-trout  is  encountered,  they  may 


Brook-trout. 


be  taken  apparently  without  stint  so  long 
as  none  escape  after  hooking.  If,  how- 
ever, one  manage  to  free  himself,  the  sport 
with  that  fly,  and  often  for  that  day,  is 
ended.  His  companions  seem  unalarmed 
by  his  struggle,  but  are  warned  by  some- 
thing learned  from  him  after  his  escape. 
The  same  has  been  observed  of  other  fish. 

225 


American  Gmne-FisJies 


But  the  gameness  of  a  fish,  being  meas- 
ured by  the  sport  his  capture  gives,  may 
be  modified  by  circumstances  quite  outside 
of  the  fish  itself,  -  -  the  angler's  mood,  his 
tackle,  and  many  other  things.  The  salm- 
on fisher,  for  instance,  may  to-day  abhor 
the  splendid  sea-trout  as  "  vermin,"  not 
from  any  affectation,  not  even  from  the 
spirit  of  purism  which  led  to  the  colored 
brother's  contemptuous  rejection  of  the 
fine  pike  because  he  was  "  a-catting,"  but 
because  it  has  interfered  with  the  pursuit 
of  the  salmon,  or  has  been  found  in  the 
pools  or  on  the  spawning-ground  of  the 
nobler  fish,  where  it  may  do  great  dam- 
age. To-morrow,  properly  equipped,  he 
will  gladly  go  to  meet  the  trout  at  the 
head  of  the  tide. 

The  possibility  of  getting  sport  from 
a  fish  is  especially  dependent  upon  the 
method  of  fishing.  If  one  anchors  his 
boat  in  ten  fathoms  of  water,  and  sinks 
his  stout  hand-line  with  a  lead  as  heavy  as 
any  fish  he  may  reasonably  expect  to  take, 
he  will  not  much  value  the  gameness  of 
the  prey  he  hales  from  the  depths.  But 
if  he  study  the  habits  of  that  fish,  and 
search  for  his  hiding-places  in  the  rocky 
tideways,  or  his  feeding-places  on  the 
shallows,  and  "  angle  unto  him "  with 
226 


American  Game-Fishes 


light  tackle,  suitable  to  his  weight,  he  is 
changed  from  an  acquaintance  of  low  es- 
tate into  a  respected  and  admired  antago- 
nist. And  it  may  in  general  be  asserted 
that  any  fish  is  most  game  when  fished 
for  in  that  way  which  gives  it  the  great- 
est chance  of  resistance  and  of  escape,  and 
which  demands  the  greatest  skill  and  deli- 
cacy on  the  part  of  the  fisherman.  Deep 
fishing,  whether  bottom  fishing  or  deep 
trolling,  demands  heavy  tackle,  if  only  to 
carry  the  necessary  weight  of  lead.  Save 
for  the  largest  fish,  such  tackle  at  once 
destroys  any  chance  of  finesse.  The  fish 
being  well  hooked,  any  force  which  will 
not  mutilate  it  enough  to  loosen  the  hook 
may  be  employed.  For  such  fishing  the 
rod  has  little  advantage  over  the  hand- 
line,  as  only  the  stoutest  rods  can  stand 
the  strain. 

In  shallow  water,  or  where  fish  are 
sought  not  far  from  the  surface,  more  or 
less  delicacy  of  apparatus  is  practicable ; 
and  it  would  be  hard  to  find  a  better 
standard  of  the  gameness  of  a  fish  (i.e.,  its 
sport-giving  power)  than  the  degree  of 
delicacy  that  is  permitted,  and  of  skill  de- 
manded, in  its  capture.  Yet  not  until  rods 
are  constructed  to  register  ergs  or  foot- 
pounds will  anglers  agree  as  to  the  rela- 

227 


A  merican  Game-FisJtes 


tive  fighting  ability  of  their  favorites,  and 
discussions  thereof  are  generally  futile. 
Doubtless  it  is  the  element  of  delicacy 
which  has  given  fly-fishing  its  pre-emi- 
nence in  the  estimation  of  anglers.  No 
greater  skill  is  demanded  to  excel  with 
the  fly  than  in  minnow-casting,  or  in 
casting  the  worm  in  "  North  Country  " 
style ;  but  with  the  delicate  rod  and  tackle 
called  for  by  fly-casting  the  angler  derives 
more  pleasure,  or  at  least  more  kinds  of 
pleasure,  than  in  any  other  way.  And  it 
is  for  similar  reasons,  no  doubt,  that  those 
fish  which  are  known  as  reliable  risers,  at 
least  in  certain  seasons,  are  those  by  which 
most  store  is  set. 

Locality,  opportunity,  and  personal  pre- 
dilection make  specialists  of  anglers.  In 
our  great  country  one  who  does  not  make 
an  occupation  of  his  pastime  can  practi- 
cally know  but  a  few  of  the  enormous 
number  of  fine  fishes  in  its  fresh  waters, 
or  along  its  shores.  The  limits  of  a  mag- 
azine article  will  admit  only  a  part  of 
those  which  have  given  the  writer  pleas- 
ure in  his  occasional  holidays.  Some  of 
these  occupy,  by  common  consent  of 
anglers,  places  of  honor ;  others  are  less 
known  or  more  slightly  esteemed ;  but 
since  they  are,  if  properly  fished  for,  truly 
228 


A  merican  Game- fishes 


game-fish,  they  are  recommended  to  the 
sincere  "  brother  of  the  angle  "  who  can- 
not command  the  time  required  to  enjoy 
the  pursuit  of  those  more  vaunted. 

"  For  by  cause,"  says  Dame  Juliana, 
"  that  the  Samon  is  the  moost  stately 
fyssh  that  ony  maye  angle  to  in  freshe 
water,  Therefore  I  purpose  to  begyn  at 
hym."  Stately  indeed  he  is,  and  all  that 
attends  his  capture  has  something  of  state 
about  it.  His  beauty  triumphs  over  the 
adverse  surroundings  of  the  fishmongers' 
slab.  Look  at  a  bright  spring  fish,  note 
his  graceful  rounded  lines,  his  small  head, 
his  gleaming  sides,  with  almost  impercep- 
tible scales,  and  with  here  and  there  a 
black  X  worn  as  jauntily  as  the  patches  of 
an  old-time  belle.  Imagine  him  living, 
strong,  agile,  and  alert,  and  you  cannot 
wonder  that  the  acclamation  of  anglers 
declares  him  king  of  sporting  fishes. 

The  Atlantic  has  but  one  salmon,  the 
Salmo  salar ;  the  Pacific  coast  of  our 
country  has  at  least  five,  all  belonging  to 
the  genus  Oncorhyncus.  The  salmon  of 
commerce  comes  from  that  coast ;  several 
species,  especially  the  Quinnat,  or  King, 
Salmon,  being  taken  in  enormous  num- 
bers to  meet  the  world's  demand.  Some 
of  these  kinds  are  equal  as  food,  under  the 

231 


A  tnerican.  Game-Fishes 


same  circumstances,  to  the  Atlantic  fish, 
and  probably  would  be  his  peer  as  a  game- 
fish  if  they  could  be  persuaded  to  rise  to 
a  fly.  As  it  is,  they  generally  are  trolled 
for  in  bays  and  estuaries  with  hand-lines 
and  tackle  so  robust  that  even  their  gal- 
lant fight  can  avail  little.  Such  noble 
fish  deserve  fairer  handling.  The  supply 
has  seemed  inexhaustible,  but  the  unre- 
strained destructiveness  of  nets  and  wheels 
is  beginning  to  tell.  The  experience  of 
the  Eastern  States  and  still  older  countries 
ought  easily  to  show  our  quick-witted 
Western  brethren  where  the  trouble  lies, 
and  where  the  cure  is  found. 

Let  us  go  back  to  our  Eastern  fish  and 
our  Eastern  rivers.  Probably  the  yield  of 
a  season  would  be  counted  a  poor  day's 
haul  on  the  Columbia,  but  the  taking  of 
each  fish  is  an  event.  Long  before  the 
snow-water  on  his  gills  wakened  in  the 
fish  the  recollections  of  his  native  stream 
the  angler  had  made  his  plans  for  the 
encounter,  and  arranged  the  details  of  his 
preparations  with  loving  care.  At  length 
he  is  upon  the  river.  That  alone  would 
be  an  experience  worth  the  pains,  but  for 
the  haunting  expectation  of  that  salmon's 
rise.  Out  of  the  forest  on  the  flanks  of 
the  low  mountains  comes  the  stream 
232 


American  Game-Fishes 


Pompano  and  Striped  Bass. 

twined  of  the  threads  of  countless  brooks. 
Over  falls  and  through  chasms,  of  which 
the  gaffers,  who  are  loggers  in  winter,  will 
tell  by  the  evening  fire,  it  finds  its  way  to 
the  broad  pool  beside  which  he  has  set  his 
camp.  Behind  the  camp,  a  little  way  up, 
is  a  cool  spring  among  the  rocks  ;  higher 
yet  on  the  sides  of  the  cliff  are  spruces, 
cedars,  birches,  maples,  and  all  the  multi- 
tudinous foliage  of  early  summer.  Across 
the  pool  the  rocky  wall  rises  nearly  per- 
pendicularly to  its  crest  of  trees.  The  bed 
of  the  stream,  too,  is  of  rock  broken  into 
steps,  with  patches  of  gravel  where,  through 


233 


A  mericaii  Game- Fishes 

the  uneven  water,  he  is  able  to  make  out 
the  resting-place  of  a  fish  quite  dispropor- 
tioned  to  the  shallow,  clear  stream.  His 
soundest  leader  and  his  most  taking  fly  are 
put  out.  He  watches  its  curving  journey 
down  the  pool.  Foot  by  foot  he  length- 
ens the  cast,  until  he  knows  the  fish  has 
seen  the  lure.  One  after  another  he  offers 
the  most  enticing  wares  of  Kelso  or  of 
Sprouston,  and  adds  thereto  bizarre  crea- 
tions of  his  own  without  effect.  The  fish 
has  run  the  gantlet  of  scores  of  pools,  and 
knows  the  contents  of  the  fly-book  as  well 
as  its  owner.  The  angler's  arm,  soft  from 
the  winter's  disuse,  begins  to  tire.  The 
fly  falls  with  less  grace,  and  sidles  down  the 
water  as  if  it  were  as  discouraged  as  he ; 
when  around  it  what  a  swirl,  as  half  a 
bronze-black  head  shows  for  an  instant 
above  the  surface !  What  wonder  that 
many  a  novice  is  paralyzed  by  stage-fright. 
It  is  well  if  his  gaffer  sets  up  his  rod  in 
time,  and  brings  him  to  his  senses.  He 
will  need  them  all. 

The  struggle  need  not  be  told,  —  the 
runs,  the  retrieval  of  the  line,  the  leaps 
and  sulks,  and  all  the  devices  of  the  ex- 
cited fish  ;  nor  yet  the  counter-manoeuvres 
of  the  angler  and  his  surprising  rushes  with 
rod  high  in  air  over  places  through  which 

334 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 


a  little  before  he  painfully  clambered  with 
the  gaffer's  aid.  It  is  an  experience  the 
angler  never  forgets,  but  to  another  it  has 
little  meaning. 

The  trout  of  Europe,  the  trout  of  Wal- 
ton, does  not  exist  in  our  country,  save  in 
a  few  places,  mostly  preserves,  where  it 
has  recently  been  introduced.  But  when 
our  English  forefathers  came  to  New  Eng- 
land they  found  a  fish  which  so  resembled 
it  —  although  more  beautiful  —  that  they 
called  it  the  brook-trout ;  and  brook-trout 
it  ever  will  remain,  although  the  strictness 
of  science  says  it  is  no  trout,  but  a  char. 
But,  as  Jordan  remarked, "  Nothing  higher 
can  be  said  of  a  salmonoid  than  that  it  is 
a  char !  "  The  determining  distinction 
lies  in  the  formation  of  one  of  the  bones 
of  the  head,  and  would  escape  any  one  but 
an  anatomist.  There  are  in  our  country, 
however,  real  trout.  Such  is  the  Rocky 
Mountain,  or  red-throated  trout  (Salmo 
mykiss}93.  good  fish,  and  much  more  worthy 
of  introduction  into  new  waters  than  the 
rainbow  trout  (S.  trideus),  which  a  few 
years  back  was  quite  extensively  placed  in 
Eastern  streams  and  lakes.  The  latter  is 
not  the  peer  of  our  own  fish. 

What  a  lovely  creature  is  this  brook- 
trout  !  Stouter  than  most  chars,  he  is  still 

235 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 


lithe  and  very  muscular.  The  water  and 
the  soil  about  him  vary  his  color,  but  in 
the  dullest  mill-pond  he  is  not  ugly.  In 
bright,  cold  water  with  clean  bottom,  how 
he  gleams,  be  he  the  fingerling  of  a  ro- 
mantic stream  in  his  first  nuptial  garment 
or  the  six-pounder  of  a  Nepigon  reach. 
From  his  olive  back,  vermiculated  like  the 
damascening  of  an  old  sword-blade,  and 
his  spotted  side,  to  his  ruddy  belly,  and  fins 
barred  with  black  and  gold,  he  is  a  beauty. 
Beautiful,  too,  are  all  his  haunts.  In 
mountains  and  in  lowlands,  in  rushing  riv- 
ers and  in  quiet  lakes,  where  the  springs 
gush  out  beneath  the  roots  of  the  ever- 
greens, or  where  the  salt  tide  forces  back 
the  flowing  streams,  he  is  ever  the  same 
lover  of  clear,  cold  water.  Not  even  hun- 
ger will  take  him  where  it  is  foul  or  warm. 
It  has  been  my  good  fortune  to  know  this 
lovely  fish  in  many  brooks  and  streams  and 
in  larger  waters,  from  the  Bay  of  Heats 
and  the  Saguenay  to  that  great  river  whose 
rapids  were  Niagara's  training-school ;  and 
everywhere  he  has  led  me  to  pictures  of 
abiding  beauty.  But  in  memory  none  is 
lovelier  than  the  streams  where  I  first 
fished,  and  which  I  still  visit.  Come  to 
one  of  them. 

In  the  springy  meadows  of  the  uplands, 
236 


American  Gatne-Fishes 


between  the  sparsely  wooded  hills,  are  its 
well-heads,  where  the  darting  fry  heed 
not  the  drinking  cattle.  Their  joining 
runnels  make  a  brooklet,  and  when  its  sis- 
ter joins  it  from  the  northward  already 
there  is  water  worthy  of  fishing.  Better 
leave  it.  Here  are  small  fish  trying  their 
strength.  If  you  startle  a  good  one  she  is 
here  on  an  errand  which  shall  increase 
your  sport  by  and  by.  We  will  leave  the 
road  where  it  crosses  the  brook  the  second 
time,  and  enter  a  wonderful  shade  of  oak 
and  beech  and  maple.  This  brook  would 
give  Meander  a  sense  of  rectitude.  Amid 
bowlders,  beech-roots,  and  boles,  mossy  and 
dappled,  making  little  promontories  cov- 
ered with  bracken,  maidenhair,  and  shade- 
loving  plants,  it  winds  about  with  a  tiny 
pool  and  rapid  at  every  rod.  There  is  no 
room  for  a  cast  here,  but  there  is  fascinat- 
ing fishing  if  you  dape  your  fly,  or  let  a 
worm  whirl  in  the  eddies.  Ah,  that  one 
is  not  full  eight  inches  !  Put  him  back, 
and  come  down  to  an  exquisite  deep  pool 
which  has  eaten  itself  out  of  the  high  bank 
from  which  the  maple  hangs.  Go  to  the 
bottom  of  the  pool  on  the  farther  side, 
where  the  bank  is  low,  and  you  will  have 
a  short  cast  up  stream  over  a  good  fish.  A 
little  below  is  a  pond  full  of  fish,  but  not 

239 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 


large  ones.  Pass  it :  the  stream  below  is 
better.  Its  right  bank  is  wooded  ;  but  on 
the  other  you  may  come  to  it  across  the 
meadow,  and  screen  yourself  behind  tall 
grasses,  clethras,  azaleas,  and  other  brook- 
side  things.  One  fish  picked  up  here  gives 
more  pleasure  than  a  dozen  from  the 
swampy  pond.  There  is  one  pool  below 
(still  with  its  steep  side  and  its  meadow 
side,  for  the  stream  has  clung  to  the  curve 
of  the  low  hill)  which  I  should  like  to 
fish  myself,  for  old  time's  sake.  In  the 
pond  below  you  will  find  abundant  good 
fish.  Take  what  you  will,  and  then  Til 
show  you  the  way  home. 

One  dislikes  to  pass  by  the  grayling, 
"  the  lady  of  the  streams ;  "  but  in  our 
country  its  habitat  is  relatively  so  restricted 
that  it  must  remain,  even  to  most  anglers, 
a  book  or  aquarium  acquaintance.  Its  re- 
pute as  a  game-fish  varies  greatly.  But  it 
should  be  borne  in  mind  that  those  who 
know  it  best  hold  it  highest ;  and  it  seems 
altogether  probable  that  the  slight  esteem 
of  others  is  due  to  their  having  fished  for 
the  grayling  in  summer.  It  is  in  full  sea- 
son only  in  autumn,  after  the  holiday  time 
for  most  busy  men  is  over.  Whatever 
may  be  thought  of  its  fighting  qualities, 
there  is  no  dispute  about  its  beauty.  Its 
240 


A  inerii  a  n  Ga  me-  Fishes 


Large  mouthed,  or  Oswego,  Black  Bass. 

dark  back  is  olive-brown  or  purple-black, 
its  sides  are  purple  and  silver,  glinting  like 
nacre  as  it  turns  in  the  light,  which  makes 
its  spots  now  black,  now  purple. 

These  are  the  noblesse  of  game-fishes, 
and  they  are  game  for  the  few  as  well. 
They  multiply  and  grow,  in  fresh  water 
at  least,  so  slowly  that  unprotected  they 
soon  disappear  from  thickly  settled  regions. 
To  seek  them  in  their  remote  and  seques- 
tered homes  demands  an  expenditure  of 
time  and  money  proper  only  to  the  relatively 
few.  The  personal  preservation  of  fishing- 
waters  jars  a  little  our  democratic  notions ; 
but  without  such  care  the  game  cannot 

241 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 


exist.  It  is  no  question  of  sport  for  the 
many  or  for  the  few,  but  of  sport  for  the 
few  or  for  none.  Fish-preserves  do  not 
(as  has  been  charged  against  great  game- 
preserves)  hinder  any  man's  successful 
bread-winning.  They  simply  demand  that 
the  flow  of  water  be  free  and  unpolluted, 
and  that  the  owner  have  the  same  right 
to  the  fish  he  raises  that  his  neighbor  has 
to  his  poultry. 

With  the  disappearance  of  the  trout, 
and  perhaps  because  of  it,  the  black  bass 
(or  rather  the  black  basses,  for  there  are 
two  of  them)  has  become  the  most  gen- 
erally popular  of  our  fresh- water  game-fish. 
For  ourselves,  we  cannot  put  it  beside  the 
game  salmonoids  ;  but  these  being  hors  con- 
cours,  it  (meaning  the  small-mouth  spe- 
cies) is  all  in  all  better  than  any  fish  of  its 
weight  found  in  fresh  water.  Its  habitat 
is  naturally  wide,  extending  — both  species 
included  —  through  the  basin  of  the  Great 
Lakes  and  the  upper  part  of  the  St.  Law- 
rence, the  Mississippi  Basin  and  the  South 
Atlantic  States,  including  the  Florida  pe- 
ninsula. East  of  the  Appalachian  chain, 
down  to  and  including  the  Potomac,  they 
seem  to  have  come  only  by  man's  help. 
The  earlier  anglers  of  the  Eastern  States 
did  not  know  the  fish ;  but  throughout  that 
242 


American  Game-Fishes 


immense  region  which  goes  by  Central 
time,  it  has  been  a  favorite  since  its  settle- 
ment, and  has  become  such  where  intro- 
duced. It  has  been  sometimes  put  into 
waters  from  which  it  would  more  wisely 
have  been  excluded;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  has  made  good  fishing-grounds 
of  many  a  sheet  of  water  which  before 
scarcely  yielded  a  day's  sport.  While  it 
does  best  with  good  spring  water,  if  there 
be  but  food  enough  it  will  thrive  and  grow 
rapidly  under  conditions  which  would  be 
fatal  to  such  a  fish  as  a  trout.  Hence  bass 
of  a  pound  weight  are  probably  as  easily 
found  as  is  a  trout  of  one-fourth  of  that. 
Many  things  contribute  to  the  survival  and 
growth  of  the  bass.  In  the  first  place,  the 
parent  is  not,  like  many  anadromous  or 
late-spawning  fish,  driven  away  by  winter 
from  its  ova  before  they  are  hatched.  The 
nest  is  fiercely  guarded  as  long  as  the  young 
stay  in  it.  Then,  as  cold  weather  ap- 
proaches, it  hibernates  in  the  mud  or  some 
safe  place  where  the  winter  poacher  can- 
not find  it.  When  active  it  has  a  vora- 
city equal  to  a  pike's,  and  is  even  better 
able  to  gratify  it.  Naturally,  then,  where 
it  is  found  at  all  it  is  usually  reasonably 
abundant  and  of  good  size.  Remarkable 
strength  is  evident  from  its  heavy  build, 

243 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 


but  the  secret  of  its  agility  must  be  hid- 
den within  its  brain.  In  mild  climates  it 
spawns  rather  early  in  the  season,  and  is 
looking  for  food  at  the  time  when  the 
"  average  citizen  "  is  taking  his  holiday. 
These  qualities  are  enough  to  secure  pop- 
ularity. 

The  two  species  of  black  bass  have  had 
many  scientific  names,  and  a  good  score  at 
least  of  popular  ones,  the  most  generally 
used  being  "  small-mouthed  bass"  for  Mi- 
cropterus  dolomei,  and  "  large-mouthed  bass," 
or  "  Oswego  bass,"  for  M.  salmoides.  The 
former  is  generally  considered  by  anglers 
to  be  much  the  better  fighter.  Dr.  Hen- 
shall,  who  speaks  with  authority  founded 
on  special  study  and  large  experience, 
claims  that,  weight,  water,  and  surround- 
ings being  the  same,  the  fish  are  equal  in 
strength  and  method  of  resistance.  We 
may  leave  this  point  open,  and  say  simply 
that  the  black  bass  is  a  very  game  fish  in- 
deed. He  fights  very  hard  and  fights  long. 
He  tries  various  tactics,  leaping  high  and 
frequently  shaking  his  head  in  the  air,  as 
if  to  dislodge  the  hook,  suddenly  boring 
down,  darting  from  side  to  side,  "jigging," 
and  taking  advantage  of  any  rock  or  sunken 
log  about  which  he  may  tangle  and  break 
the  line.  His  vitality  is  such  that  he  sur- 

244 


American  Game  Fishes 


A  Striped  Bass  Fisherman's  Stand 


A  -nerican  Ganie-FisJus 

vives  capture  a  long  time,  and  even  the 
merciful  blow  upon  the  base  of  the  skull 
sometimes  is  not  sufficient  to  make  him 
"stay  killed." 

The  bass  is  taken  in  all  sorts  of  ways, 
and  with  a  great  variety  of  lures.  Still- 
fishing,  trolling,  minnow-casting,  and  fly- 
casting  are  all  employed.  The  still-fisher's 
outfit  is  generally  the  most  ample,  as  the 
bass  is  noted  among  fish  for  the  catholi- 
city and  variability  of  his  taste  —  minnows, 
shrimps,  crickets,  grasshoppers,  helgram- 
ites,  dew-worms,  and  what  not.  Pretty 
certainly,  if  the  angler  has  depended  upon 
a  professional  fisherman  for  his  bait,  he 
will  find  himself  overstocked  with  what 
the  fish  were  taking  day  before  yesterday, 
and  scantily  supplied  with  what  they  wish 
to-day.  Even  with  all  the  baits  known 
to  the  fisherman,  he  may  fail  to  find  the 
fish  in  his  favorite  places  —  a  fact  which 
has  led  some  to  suppose  that  they  make 
circuits  of  the  sheet  of  water  they  inhabit, 
staying  but  a  short  time  in  one  place.  It 
is  possible  to  fish  a  well-stocked  pond  often 
without  finding  the  fish  at  all.  Minnow- 
casting  and  fly-fishing  are,  after  all,  much 
the  more  satisfactory  methods  of  fishing. 
They  have  much  the  same  kind  of  inter- 
est: by  them  both  a  great  deal  of  water 
247 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 


can  be  investigated  without  unreasonable 
delay  or  labor,  and  the  situation  of  the  fish 
ascertained  if  they  be  in  the  humor  for 
either  lure.  Fly-fishing  for  bass  has  noth- 
ing peculiar  in  it,  save  that  the  flies  used 
are  usually  large  and  showy,  and  the  rod, 
line,  and  gut  proportionably  heavier  than 
for  trout-fishing.  The  fly  is  ordinarily 
used  with  success  only  in  moderately  shal- 
low water,  and  perhaps  the  same  might 
be  said  of  minnow-casting;  and  in  using 
them  early  in  the  season,  it  is  wise  always 
to  make  sure  that  the  places  where  rises 
are  frequent  are  not  the  resting-place  of 
some  belated  spawners.  The  fly  will  have 
done  no  real  harm  if  you  put  the  fish 
back,  but  the  minnow-hook  may  have 
done  irreparable  damage.  In  case  of 
doubt,  it  is  better  to  sheer  off  into  deeper 
water,  and  come  again  later  in  the  season. 
The  pike  family,  which  in  Europe  con- 
tains a  single  species  (Lucius  facius},  is  rep- 
resented in  our  own  country  by  at  least 
five,  of  which  three  are  commonly  con- 
sidered game-fish  ;  namely,  the  common 
green  pickerel  of  the  Eastern  and  Middle 
States  (L.  reticulatus}  ;  the  pike,  the  same 
as  the  European  fish ;  and  the  maskin- 
ongy,  meaning,  in  Algonquin,  great  pike 
(L.  masquinongy],  which  is  found  chiefly  in 
248 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 

the  basin  of  the  Great  Lakes,  and  is  the 
finest  fish  of  the  group.  The  maskinongy 
is  often  cautious,  and  not  easy  to  entice ; 
and  after  hooking,  its  weight,  strength, 
and  alertness  make  it  a  worthy  antagonist. 
In  waters  about  the  Thousand  Islands  it 
is  considered  a  prize.  The  pike,  if  large, 
often  gives  nearly  as  good  sport,  especially 
if  for  the  sake  of  plunder  it  has  left  its 
favorite  lakes  or  slack  water,  and  dwells  a 
while  in  a  rapid  current  of  cold  water. 
But,  on  the  whole,  I  have  not  found  it  a 
very  interesting  fish.  It  sometimes  makes 
one  or  two  good  runs  soon  after  hooking, 
and,  failing  to  break  away,  then  comes 
home.  Its  admirers  speak  of  it  as  game 
to  the  last,  but  I  have  not  seen  this  pecu- 
liarity. It  surpasses  all  other  fish  in  one 
thing,  —  the  number  of  incredible  tales  of 
which  it  is  the  subject.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  Christian  era,  the  manufacture 
of  the  legend  of  the  mighty  and  voracious 
pike  was  well  established.  The  industry 
is  still  continued,  thrives  without  protec- 
tion, and  no  trust  as  yet  restricts  its  out- 
put. 

Nor  is  the  common  pickerel  a  fish  to 
excite  much  enthusiasm.  Yet  in  ponds 
and  streams  not  stocked  with  better  fish, 
it  is  an  object  of  consideration.  In  cold, 

249 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 

clear  streams,  and  in  lakes  after  the  au- 
tumn chill  has  settled  upon  them,  it  loses 
its  muddy  flavor,  and  becomes  an  accep- 
table table-fish.  Even  when  the  lakes  are 
frozen,  it  gives  sport  to  those  who  like  to 
use  the  spear,  or  to  skate  from  one  "  tip- 
up  "  to  another.  But  when  the  trout  is 
out  of  season,  and  the  bass  is  in  the  mud, 
the  pickerel  still  gives  a  few  days  of  real 
angling  before  the  rods  are  put  away  for 
the  winter.  Best  of  all,  to  our  taste,  is  it 
to  seek  him  in  the  lake  shallows,  or  in  the 
still  reaches  of  the  streams,  when  the  au- 
tumn haze  tempers  the  glory  of  the  leaves, 
when  the  white  frost  makes  the  bents  crisp 
under  foot,  and  our  pockets  shall  be  heavy 
with  hickory-nuts,  even  if  our  creels  be 
light.  There  is  another  fish,  sometimes 
called  pike  or  pickerel  (and  salmon,  too, 
for  that  matter),  which  is  no  pike.  It  is 
the  wall-eye,  or  pike  perch.  It  is  inter- 
esting ichthyologically  ;  it  is  an  excellent 
table-fish  when  fresh,  and,  if  caught  in 
quick  water  (I  have  known  it  only  in  the 
Nepigon  and  the  Grande  Decharge),  a 
good  fighter. 

The    delights    of    angling    are    by    no 

means,    in    our  country,    bound    up   with 

the  capture  of  a  few  kinds  of  fish.      It  is 

one  of  the  evidences  of  the  enormous  re- 

250 


A  mencan  Game-Fishes 


sources  of  our  anglers  that  so  many  kinds, 
the  taking  of  which  would  in  England 
(the  country  par  excellence  of  angling  liter- 
ature) be  considered  well  worth  describ- 
ing, are  here  airily  waved  aside  as  "  boys' 
fish."  If  such  they  be,  there  is  a  good 
deal  of  boy  left  in  some  veteran  anglers. 
The  chubs  and  their  kindred,  the  race  of 
sunfishes  and  all  the  lesser  basses,  and 
even  the  yellow  perch  (good  risers  at  the 
fly  all,  in  their  season),  have  been  thus 
slightingly  characterized. 

Now,  take  this  perch,  for  instance.  He 
is  dear  to  the  boy's  heart  because  of  his 
gregariousness  and  his  courage.  If  he  be 
found  at  all,  he  is  usually  found  abun- 
dantly; and,  unless  age  or  hard  experience 
have  cooled  his  ardor,  he  is  not  alarmed 
at  the  disappearance  of  his  comrades,  but 
follows  the  caught  one  to  the  last,  and  is 
ready  to  try  his  luck  on  the  next  bait. 
But  large  perch  are  not  so  easily  taken. 
It  requires  fine  tackle  to  deceive  them  and 
sound  tackle  to  hold  them  ;  and  fish  of 
three-quarters  of  a  pound  or  more,  or  even 
of  half  a  pound,  give  excellent  sport,  and 
there  are  few  better  table-fish  taken  from 
fresh  water.  Not  the  least  of  its  excel- 
lences, to  the  angler's  mind,  is  the  fact 
that  it  can  be  caught  late  in  the  season, 

251 


A  merican  Game-Fisltes 


generally  as  late  as  it  is  comfortable  to  sit 
in  a  punt. 

Sea-fishing  attracts  or  repels  according 
as  the  charms  or  discomforts  of  the  sea  the 
more  impress  the  fisherman.  The  draw- 
backs of  deep-water  angling  have  been 
mentioned,  but  there  is  ample  field  for 
angling  in  salt  water  without  these.  Shore- 
fishing  is  often  exceedingly  satisfactory  if 
one  but  have  the  skill  to  make  a  fairly 
long  cast ;  while  estuary-  and  harbor-fish- 
ing have  much  the  same  charms  as  lake- 
fishing,  with  the  great  abundance  of  game 
which  the  sea  affords.  Around  New  York 
the  opportunities  that  salt  water  affords  for 
skilful  and  delicate  angling  are  widely  ap- 
preciated, and  the  advantages  gained  both 
as  to  sport  and  to  success  by  the  use  of 
fine  tackle  are  more  and  more  recognized. 
Among  the  delights  of  salt-water  angling 
is  the  variety  of  fish  that  may  be  taken, 
even  in  a  single  day's  sport.  It  is  impos- 
sible to  even  enumerate  those  ordinarily 
sought  for.  Those  denizens  of  the  two 
oceans  and  the  Gulf  familiar  to  the  readers 
of  angling  journals  must  number  a  hun- 
dred or  more  species.  Quite  a  large  num- 
ber of  them,  not  generally  recognized  as 
anadromous,  push  their  way,  in  search  of 
food  or  for  other  reasons,  into  brackish  or 
252 


American  Game  Fishes 


Trolling  for  Blue  Fish 


American  Game-Fishes 

even  into  fresh  water,  affording  the  angler 
some  of  his  choicest  opportunities.  At 
a  single  point,  about  forty  miles  up  the 
Hudson,  the  writer  has  taken  the  striped 
bass,  the  bluefish,  the  weakfish,  the  hick- 
ory shad,  and  the  Lafayette,  —  all  sea-fish, 
—  amid  scenery  as  beautiful  as  that  of  a 
Highland  loch.  Even  the  enormous  tar- 
pon, which  may  outweigh  his  captor,  is 
sought  for  in  shallow  harbors  or  estuaries. 
The  capture  of  the  Striped  Bass,  how- 
ever, is  most  satisfactory,  as  the  "setting" 
seems  most  appropriate, — in  the  break- 
ers or  in  the  rocky  tideways  of  the  coast. 
Whether  or  not  the  tarpon  shall  yet  oust 
him  from  his  place,  the  bass  has  hitherto 
been  facile  princeps  among  the  game-fish 
of  salt  water.  The  admirers  of  "  the 
salmon  of  the  surf"  have  even  challenged 
the  supremacy  of  the  river  king.  Beauti- 
ful, strong,  active,  and  cunning,  his  taking 
is  a  triumph  to  the  angler  and  a  gratifi- 
cation to  the  gourmand.  There  are  few 
more  beautiful  fish  than  a  bass.  His  col- 
ors are  more  brilliant  before  he  reaches 
the  grandest  size;  and  fish  of  medium 
weight  —  ten  to  thirty  pounds  —  are  gen- 
erally thought  to  be  the  most  active.  But 
the  same  is  true  of  most  fish.  There  is 
one  particular  about  the  fight  of  the  bass 

255 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 


which  is  never  forgotten,  the  straight-away 
rush  after  it  feels  the  hook.  As  he  sees 
score  after  score  of  yards  of  line  disappear 
from  the  reel  in  spite  of  all  the  pressure  of 
thumb  that  the  rod  will  bear,  the  anxiety 
of  the  angler  is  intense.  Sometimes  the 
fish  is  turned  (or  rather  he  changes  his 
mind)  only  when  the  despairing  fisherman 
thinks  he  can  count  the  remaining  turns 
on  the  2oo-yard  spool  —  and  sometimes 
he  does  not  change  his  mind  at  all.  It  is 
rather  remarkable  that  right  within  the 
limits  of  New  York  City  has  been  the 
school,  if  one  may  so  say,  of  bass-angling. 
Hell  Gate,  with  its  ledges  and  eddies,  was 
an  ideal  place  for  the  fish  ;  and  the  found- 
ers of  the  great  bass-clubs  were  largely 
trained  there.  Of  late  years  the  constant 
passing  of  steam  and  sailing  craft,  the  pol- 
lution of  the  waters  by  the  sewage  of  a 
metropolis,  not  to  mention  the  senseless 
and  lawless  taking  of  tiny  fish,  have  im- 
paired the  fishing,  so  that  fish  of  above 
five  pounds  are  rarities  ;  yet  in  one  week 
during  the  last  summer,  after  a  hard  blow, 
the  East  River  trollers  took  a  number  of 
larger  fish.  The  surf  fisherman  fishes  from 
the  shore,  making  long  casts  —  fifty  yards 
or  more  —  from  the  reel,  or  throwing  the 
hand-line  with  the  skill  born  of  practice. 
256 


A  merican  Game-Fishes 


The  platform  "stand,"  so  much  in  vogue 
at  fishing-clubs,  we  cannot  help  thinking 
a  mistake.  To  give  so  wary  a  fish  the 
opportunity  to  silhouette  the  fisherman 
against  the  sky  cannot  be  conducive  to 
success.  A  shorter  cast  from  a  less  con- 
spicuous position,  we  believe,  would  take 
more  fish.  In  shallow  water,  rivers,  estu- 
aries, and  the  like,  the  bass  will  take  the 
fly ;  and  the  method  is  well  worth  the 
trial.  . 

There  is  an  humble  kinsman  of  the 
bass  which  has  been  one  of  our  life-long 
friends,  a  game-fish  of  far  more  merit  than 
many  a  higher  praised  one,  —  the  white 
perch  (Morone  americana).  When  young 
he  is  the  victim  of  his  appetite,  and  falls 
the  prey  of  any  fisherman  with  any  tackle  ; 
but  as  he  becomes  of  ripe  age  he  is  shy 
enough.  Large  ones  often  are  taken  by 
the  ambushed  angler  on  the  lightest  of  fly- 
tackle,  when  the  bait-fisher  had  abandoned 
the  water  as  hopeless.  Here  is  the  mem- 
orandum of  an  afternoon's  fishing  in  early 
June  of  last  yea^  : 

Let  us  row  up  the  creek  as  far  as  we 
can.  The  ebb  is, well  spent,  and  it  is  hard 
to  keep  the  skiff  afloat ;  so  we  land  and 
haul  her  up,  taking  the  shrimp-seine.  A 
few  sweeps  in  a  favorable  place  give  us 

257 


American  Game-Fishes 


bait  enough.  Upon  the  finest  of  drawn- 
gut  leaders  we  put  a  couple  of  dark  midge- 
flies,  and  as  a  stretcher  a  small  hook  of 
fine  wire  (No.  6  Aberdeen  is  about  right). 
Bait  this  with  the  smallest  of  shrimps  ;  for 
the  herrings  are  still  running,  and  are 
likely  to  be  along  with  the  perch.  Your 
fresh-run  herring  is  dainty ;  no  coarse 
tackle  nor  large  baits  for  him.  A  strong 
southwest  wind  has  blown  off*  the  hot 
mists  of  the  morning,  the  sky  is  clear 
with  snowy  cumuli,  and  the  sun  bright ; 
but  we  need  not,  after  all,  throw  off  our 
coats.  The  broad  meadow  is  encircled 
with  rich-colored  oaks  of  small  size,  and 
on  one  side  the  pasture-land  slopes  up 
above  them.  Through  the  green  the 
creek  wanders,  as  if  determined  to  stay 
within  it  as  long  as  possible.  Here  and 
there  a  straight  branch  shows  that  at  some 
time  man  has  tried  his  hand  at  topography, 
and  sends  us  a  long  way  around. 

Not  too  near  the  bank,  now.  Or,  if 
you  cannot  cast  up  against  the  wind  so  far, 
crawl  up  and  cast  kneeling.  Not  here 
to-day  !  These  little  migrations  are  among 
the  charms  of  this  fishing.  Many  usual 
haunts  may  be  tried  fruitlessly  before  the 
fish  are  found,  but  if  found  they  are  likely 
to  be  in  force ;  they  are  social  creatures. 
258 


American  Game-Fishes 


Ah,  we  have  found  them  !  There  is  a 
good  perch  at  the  shrimp.  How  he 
makes  the  dropper  dance  !  And  now  a 
herring  has  that,  and  is  out  of  water  in  an 
instant,  showing  his  broad  silvery  side,  and 
then,  making  this  same  breadth  serve  him, 
he  sways  and  surges  at  the  leader  like  a 
boy's  kite  in  a  flawy  sou'wester.  For  a 
few  minutes  they  take  freely,  and  then 
are  gone;  and  we  go  too,  meeting  them  or 
others  again  and  again  at  the  bends  and  the 
reaches.  Now  the  creel  is  full  enough, 
and  the  westering  sun  suggests  that  we  are 
waited  for  at  home.  We  cut  across  a 
large  bow  of  the  creek,  looking  to  find 
something  more  dainty  to  offer  than  the 
contents  of  the  creel.  Here  it  is, —  the 
sweet-scented  arethusa.  How  abundant 
it  is!  Around  this  rosy  centre  we  put  a 
few  blooms  of  the  great  blue  iris  and  but- 
tercups. That  will  suffice.  Well !  This 
is  an  odd  place  for  the  checkerberry,  but 
here  it  is,  out  in  the  meadows  by  the  salty 
creek  ;  red  berries  and  ruddy  young  leaves 
("drunkards"  the  children  call  them), 
hot  to  look  at,  hotter  yet  to  taste. 

So  along  to  the  place  where  we  hid  the 

net  beside  the  dike,  and  then  to  the  skiff. 

She  floats  free  with  the  risen  tide.     When 

we  shoot  the  bridge,  down  flat  and  save 

259 


A  mericfin  Game-fishes 


your  head  !  That's  safely  done.  Here's 
the  eddy  where  we  used  to  take  the  scup- 
paug  with  trout  tackle.  Do  you  remem- 
ber that  twilight  ?  They  will  be  there 
again  at  the  end  of  the  summer,  as  game 
and  as  toothsome  as  ever.  What  a  pity 
to  inflict  the  indignity  of  a  hand-line  on 
the  brave  little  fighters  !  Now  for  home 
and  supper. 


260 


IZAAK    WALTON 


By  Alexander  Cargill 


Entrance  to  Dovedale,  Looking  up  the  Valley. 

"  Sir,  when  I  go  a-fishing,  an'  the  Fates  decree  that  I  get  no 
fish,  then  am  I  still  a  gainer;   for,  God's  body !  I  get  flesh ! " 

HERE  is  a  peculiar  irony 
in  the  fact  that  a  man  who 
himself  succeeded  in  re- 
cording, with  satisfying 
amplitude  of  detail,  the 
lives  of  no  fewer  than  five 
of  his  contemporaries,  should 
have  left  so  little  record  of  his  own  career, 
that  nearly  fifty  years  of  it  might  be  ade- 

263 


Izaak  Walton. 


quately  epitomized  in  half  as  many  lines. 
Yet  such  is  the  case  with  Izaak  Walton, 
the  patron  saint  of  the  great  confraternity 
of  anglers,  who  was  born  into  the  world 
a  little  over  three  hundred  years  ago, 
whose  fame  is  as  fresh  as  ever,  yet  of  the 
greater  part  of  whose  life  we  know  almost 
nothing.  To  most  students  of  literary  bi- 
ography; and  especially  to  the  -followers 
of  that  prince  of  anglers  and  good  fellows, 
genuine  interest  in  the  man  and  his  deeds 
only  begins  with  the  period  of  his  retire- 
ment from  active  life.  Indeed,  it  is  no 
discourtesy  to  his  memory  to  go  further 
than  this,  and  say  (for  Walton  loved  the 
truth  more  than  sunshine)  that,  in  its  per- 
manent value  to  posterity,  the  life  of  the 
author  of  The  Complete  Angler  began  only 
with  his  sixtieth  year,  and  when  that  fa- 
mous work  was  first  sent  forth  to  the  world0 
The  tantalizing  paucity  of  facts  as  to 
a  character  that  must  have  been  most  in- 
teresting, —  a  character  of  whom  it  has 
been  said  that  he  possessed  all  the  virtues 
of  a  typical  squire,  unblemished  even  by 
the  shadow  of  a  vice,  is  almost  as  notable 
as  in  the  case  of  the  greatest  life  of  all, 
with  its  quiet  beginning  at  Stratford-on- 
Avon,  not  a  hundred  miles  from  Stafford, 
where  Walton  was  born.  Stratford  and 
264 


Izaak   M'alton 


Stafford  !  great  indeed  is  the  glory  that 
belongs  to  these  two  fair  midland  towns. 
If  one  is  the  birthplace  of  the  king  of 
English  poets  and  dramatists,  in  the  other 
the  patron  saint  of  all  true  anglers  first 
beheld  the  light  of  day  stream  down  from 
the  many-tinted,  ever-changing  English 
sky,  under  whose  canopy  he,  as  boy, 
youth,  and  man,  delighted  so  much  to 
wander  at  his  own  sweet  will,  in  all  sea- 
sons, with  his  honest  heart  as  full  of  love 
to  God  and  man  as  was  the  old-fashioned 
pannier  on  his  back  brimful  of  trouts  from 
the  Lea  or  Dove  ! 

As  with  Shakespeare,  so  with  Walton ; 
tradition  has  ventured  to  fill  up 'the  spaces 
which  an  unregarding  destiny  had  left 
void.  Her  finger  has  pointed  to  the  house 
and  street  —  even  to  the  very  room — in 
Stafford  town  where  Walton  was  born ; 
and  we  can  only  believe  or  discredit  ac- 
cording to  our  measure  of  faith.  Happily, 
there  is  no  doubt  whatever  respecting  that 
event  itself,  which  took  place  somewhere 
within  the  Parish  of  St.  Mary's  on  Aug. 
9th,  1593.  The  register  of  the  church 
of  that  name  states  that :  — 


"  September  1593  :    Baptiz  fuit  Isaac 
Filius  Jervis  Walton,  XX°  die  mensis 
et  anni  praedict." 

265 


Izaak  Walter, 


A  ncient  Houses  in  Fleet  Street,  including  the  Residence  of  Izaak 
Walton,  1620. 


Very  little  is  known  respecting  his  par- 
ents. What  profession  or  status  his  father, 
the  aforesaid  Jervis  or  Jervaise  Walton, 
held,  no  record  exists  to  show.  From  the 
fact,  however,  that  he  "took  to  wife  "  a 
lady  who  was  a  descendant  of  Archbishop 
Cranmer,  of  Reformation  fame,  it  is  be- 
lieved that  he  belonged  to  a  goodly  Eng- 
lish stock,  and  occupied  an  honorable 

266 


Izaak  Walton 


social  position  ;  so  that  in  respect  to  his 
parentage,  at  all  events,  Izaak  Walton  may 
be  held  to  have  been  fortunate.  "  Not  a 
vestige  of  the  place  or  manner  of  his  edu- 
cation has  been  discovered."  Walton  sen- 
ior died  when  Izaak  was  but  two  years 
old.  From  his  mother  Walton  probably 
inherited  his  strong  attachment  to  the 
Church  of  England  and  his  Royalist  predi- 
lections ;  and  it  is  only  gallant  to  suppose 
that  he  derived  from  her  also  that  gen- 
tleness and  nobility  of  disposition  which, 
as  his  writings  abundantly  testify,  formed 
so  pronounced  a  trait  in  his  character. 
To  his  father  he  may  have  been  indebted 
for  the  foundation  of  that  physical  strength 
and  endurance  by  which  his  life  was  pro- 
longed to  its  ninetieth  year.  Walton's 
own  temperate  living,  and  his  long-con- 
tinued open-air  habits,  no  doubt  helped 
very  materially  to  his  attaining  such  an  old 
age.  But  what  he  owed  to  his  parents 
for  his  moral  and  physical  endowments  he 
has  himself  acknowledged,  though  perhaps 
indirectly,  in  more  than  one  reference 
in  his  works. 

Whatever  the  unrecorded  story  of  Wal- 
ton's boyhood  and  youth  (imagination 
might  freely  and  delightedly  fill  in  the 
details  !),  it  is  quite  certain  that  he  was  in 

267 


Izaak  Walio 


London  seeking  fame  and  fortune  some 
time  about  his  thirtieth  year.  There  he 
established  himself  in  business  as  a  linen- 
draper,  or  sempster,  a  lucrative  business 
even  in  these  days.  His  "  establishment  " 
at  first  was  situated  in  the  upper  story  of 
the  Royal  Exchange,  or  Bourse,  on  Corn- 
hill,  erected  by  Sir  Thomas  Gresham,  and 
consisted  of  a  small  compartment,  "  seven 
feet  and  a  half  long  and  five  wide ;  an 
economy,"  according  to  Sir  John  Haw- 
kins, one  of  Walton's  earliest  biographers, 
"  that  would  scarcely  allow  him  to  have 
elbow-room.  Yet  here  did  he  carry  on  his 
trade  till  some  time  before  the  year  1624, 
when  he  dwelt  on  the  north  side  of  Fleet 
Street,  in  a  house  two  doors  west  of  the 
end  of  Chancery  Lane.  It  further  appears 
that  the  place  was  in  the  joint  occupation 
of  Izaak  Walton  and  John  Mason,  hosier, 
from  whence  we  may  conclude  that  half- 
a-shop  was  sufficient  for  the  business  of 
Walton."  This  conclusion  has,  however, 
been  dissented  from  by  later  biographers, 
who  incline  to  the  opinion  that  the  "  half- 
shop  "  was  merely  an  office,  while  the 
business  itself  was  carried  on  elsewhere. 
In  December,  1626,  when  in  his  thirty- 
third  year,  Walton  married  his  first  wife, 
a  Miss  Rachel  Floud  or  Flood  or  Floyd, 

268 


Izaak   Jl  'alton 


Portrait  of  Izaak  Walton 


Izaak  Walton 


by  whom  he  had  seven  children.  No 
incident  of  his  married  life  with  this  lady 
is  anywhere  recorded ;  but  that  he  had 
much  sorrow  to  put  to  the  test  his  nat- 
ural sweetness  and  cheerfulness  may  be 
gathered  from  the  fact  that  he  not  only 
lost  all  the  offspring  of  this  marriage,  but 
at  the  end  of  fourteen  years  had  likewise 
to  mourn  her  death.  Childless  and  a  wid- 
ower, Walton  was  now  in  his  forty-seventh 
year ;  and  it  was  probably  to  direct  his 
mind  away  from  his  domestic  afflictions 
that  he  essayed  to  publish  the  first  of  his 
famous  lives,  viz.,  that  of  Dr.  John  Donne, 
Dean  of  St.  Paul's,  along  with  a  collection 
of  the  sermons  of  that  well-known  divine 
and  poet.  Three  years  later,  though  only 
arrived  at  what  many  regard  as  the  merid- 
ian of  life  and  effort,  Walton  relinquished 
business,  and,  with  a  fair  competency,  ac- 
quired, we  may  rest  assured,  honestly  and 
diligently,  left  London  to  reside  near  Staf- 
ford, his  native  place. 

During  the  period  of  his  London  life, 
Walton  must  have  fore-gathered  with  not 
a  few  notable  and  worthy  men.  He  ap- 
pears to  have  had  a  special  genius  for  form- 
ing friendships  with  men  of  really  high 
and  representative  character.  The  attrac- 
tion was  perhaps  as  much  on  his  side ;  and 

271 


Izaak  Walton 

indeed  we  are  told  by  one  chronicler  (Dr. 
Zouche)  that  "such  were  his  manners  and 
deportment,  that  he  classed  among  his 
friends  the  first  and  most  illustrious  of  his 
contemporaries/'  Nor  was  Walton  less 
fortunate  in  his  social  connections.  The 
times  in  which  he  lived  were  times  of 
gloomy  suspicion,  of  danger  and  distress, 
when  a  severe  scrutiny  into  the  public  and 
private  behavior  of  men  established  a  rigid 
discrimination  of  character.  Walton's  life 
and  conduct  were,  of  course,  exempt  from 
the  slightest  hint  of  distrust,  and  untouched 
by  the  merest  breath  of  suspicion.  His 
worldly  prudence  was  but  on  a  par  with 
his  devout  piety  and  austere  simplicity; 
and  he  joyed  and  jogged  along  the  foot- 
path ways  of  life, —  if,  haply,  now  and 
then  with  a  grave  and  thoughtful  brow  at 
the  aspect  of  affairs  around  him,  generally 
with  a  mind  at  peace  with  itself,  and  with 
a  heart  buoyant  with  sincere  love  towards 
God  and  to  man,  and  to  all  creatures  and 
things  whatsoever  of  good  report.  He 
must  therefore  be  allowed  to  have  pos- 
sessed a  peculiar  excellence  of  disposition. 
The  singular  circumspection  which  he  ob- 
served in  the  choice  of  his  acquaintances 
has  not  escaped  the  notice  of  Mr.  Cotton, 
who  says :  "  My  father  Walton  will  be 
272 


Izaak  H'alton 


The  Izaak  Walton  Inn  at  the  entrance  to  Dovedale. 

seen  twice  in  no  man's  company  he  does 
not  like,  and  likes  none  but  such  as  he 
believes  to  be  very  honest  men  ;  which  is 
one  of  the  best  arguments,  or  at  least  of 
the  best  testimonies  I  have,  that  I  either 
am,  or  that  he  thinks  me,  one  of  those, 
seeing  that  I  have  not  yet  found  him  weary 
of  me; "  a  testimony  otherwise  amply  con- 
firmed and  referred  to  later  on. 

While,  on  the  one  hand,  there  are  these 
credible  data  respecting  Walton's  success- 
ful career  in  London,  to  the  angler,  who 
is  eager  to  know  something,  outside  of  tra- 
dition and  beyond  mere  surmise,  of  the 
273 


Izaak  Walton 


master's  doings  by  his  beloved  Lea,  whither 
he  often  repaired  in  the  intervals  of  busi- 
ness, history  is,  on  the  other  hand,  most 
illiberal.  We  can  only  believe  that  he 
pursued  his  favorite  pastime  with  all  dili- 
gence ;  for  he  acquired  that  expertness  in 
it  which  subsequently  made  him  so  fa- 
mous. His  proximity  to  the  Thames  and 
its  upper  waters  afforded  to  a  man  with 
such  ardor  for  fishing  all  the  opportunities 
essential  for  becoming  a  successful  sports- 
man and  reliable  guide.  In  those  days,  as 
indeed  to  some  extent  even  yet,  the  higher 
Thames  and  the  many  feeders  of  that  royal 
river  —  notably  the  Lea  at  Wareham, 
some  twenty  miles  from  London,  which 
claimed  the  particular  patronage  of  Wal- 
ton—  formed  the  chief  resort  of  anglers 
from  the  metropolis.  And  when  we  re- 
flect on  the  fact  that  most  of  the  wayfar- 
ing then  had  to  be  done  on  foot,  the 
knights  of  the  gentle  art,  with  their  varied 
and  oftentimes  burdensome  paraphernalia, 
must  have  been,  to  tramp  that  distance, 
liberally  endowed  with  patience  and  endur- 
ance. These  qualities  at  least  were  con- 
spicuous in  Walton,  and,  in  all  probability, 
more  highly  developed  in  him  during  his 
meanderings  between  Fleet  Street  and  the 
Lea  than  at  any  other  time.  The  grow- 
274 


Walton 


ing  inspiration  of  The  Complete  Angler  was 
no  doubt,  often  present  within  him  on 
those  days  of  travel  ;  but  it  was  only  after 
the  close  of  his  London  career  and  his 
retiring  from  active  life  that  we  may  sup- 
pose its  idea  actually  to  have  developed. 
"  I  confess/'  he  says,  in  the  opening  pages 
of  the  work,  "  my  discourse  "  (as  he  calls 

it)  "is  like 


THE  AN<; LEU'S  SONG. 


The  Angler's  Song,  with  the  Original  Music. 
275 


to  prove 
suitable  t  o 
my  recrea- 
tion, calm 
and  quiet" 
—  blessings 
more  likely 
to  be  found 
in  the  green 
lanes  of 
Stafford- 
shire than 
anywhere 
else.  The 
neighbor- 
hood of  his 
native  town 
was  not 
only  admi- 
rably adapt- 
ed for  pro- 


Izaak   Walton 


viding  suitable  calm  and  quiet  in  the  prep- 
aration of  his  "  discourse,"  but  afforded  the 
very  best  opportunities  for  the  practise  of 
the  art  on  which  he  now  began  to  descant. 
Within  a  limit  of  twenty-five  or  thirty 
miles  of  Stafford,  he  had  the  choice  of  at 
least  half  a  dozen  first-rate  streams  in 
which  to  practise.  There  were,  for  in- 
stance, the  Soar,  the  Tame,  the  Sow,  the 
Idle,  the  Derwent,  and  last,  but  not  least, 
the  ever-glorious  Dove.  It  was,  indeed,  a 
fortunate  matter  for  posterity  that  the  buy- 
ing and  selling  of  his  linen  stuffs  on  Corn- 
hill  did  not  by  one  jot  abate  Walton's 
youthful  enthusiasm  nurtured  amid  such 
opportunities. 

But  when  or  where  The  Complete  An- 
gler was  actually  conceived,  planned,  and 
written,  can  only  be  surmised.  Possi- 
bly the  work  had  been  taking  shape  in 
his  fancy  for  many  years,  to  be  saved  for 
his  leisure  on  the  small  estate  which  he 
bought  near  Stafford  on  his  retirement  in 
1643,  where  we  are  told  "his  compan- 
ions were  some  friends,  a  book,  a  cheerful 
heart,  and  an  innocent  conscience."  What 
a  change  from  London  to  a  man  of  his 
temperament  !  That  city  he  declared, 
after  he  left  it,  however,  to  be  "  a  place 
dangerous  for  honest  men;"  and  no  doubt 
276 


Izaak   Walton 


fi     \ 


The  Church  at  Dovedale 


Izaak  Walton 


he  was  glad  to  turn  his  back  upon  it,  since, 
according  to  a  biographer,  "his  loyalty 
had  made  him  obnoxious  to  the  ruling 
powers."  Whatever  the  circumstances 
of  the  actual  writing  of  The  Complete 
Angler,  that  occupation  did  not  prevent 
Walton's  marrying  for  the  second  time. 
That  event  took  place  about  1 646  ;  the 
lady  he  then  wedded  being  Anne,  the 
daughter  of  Thomas  Ken,  Bishop  of  Bath 
and  Wells,*  one  of  the  seven  bishops  that 
were  sent  to  the  Tower,  and  who  at  the 
Revolution  was  deprived  of  his  bishopric, 
and  subsequently  died  in  retirement. 

In  1653  the  work  was  published  in 
London,  and,  as  shown  on  the  title-page, 
a  fac-simile  of  which  is  here  produced, 
was  printed  by  "  T.  Maxey  for  Rich. 
Marriot."  No  doubt  this  was  the  event 
of  Walton's  life,  and,  along  with  the 
publication  of  Hobbes's  Leviathan,  was 
probably  the  literary  event  of  that  year. 
In  what  a  quarrelling  and  fighting  time 
was  this  most  peaceful  book  brought  forth ! 
What  a  noise  and  tumult  then  filled  all 
England !  Four  years  previously,  King 
Charles  I.  had  been  executed,  —  a  tragedy 
which,  in  the  words  of  John  Richard 

*  Two  children  only  were  the  issue  of  this  union,  —  a  son  and 
a  daughter. 

279 


Izaak  Walton 


Green,  "  sent  a  thrill  of  horror  throughout 
Europe."  Then  followed  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Commonwealth  and  Crom- 
well's invasion  of  Scotland.  The  battles 
of  Dunbar  and  Worcester,  in  1650  and 
1651  respectively,  and  the  outbreak  of  the 
Dutch  war  in  the  following  year,  were 
events  enough  to  turn  the  minds  of  men 
from  contemplative  themes  and  peaceful 
recreations.  Strange,  therefore,  that  this 
quaint  book,  with  its  suggestive  sub-title, 
should  have  been  hatched  and  given  to 
the  world  in  such  a  time  of  clangor  and 
clashing  of  swords  !  Stranger  still,  that 
it  should  at  once  have  found  such  general 
favor  as  to  make  necessary  the  publication 
of  a  second  edition  two  years  later.  Yet 
such  was  the  fact,  testifying,  surely,  to  the 
immediate  recognition  of  its  rare  literary 
worth,  its  sterling  descriptive  beauty,  and 
its  compelling  fascination. 

Something  of  the  immediate  popularity 
of  The  Complete  Angler  was  of  course  due 
to  its  subject,  apart  from  its  intrinsic  quali- 
ties. It  was  the  first  really  serviceable  work 
on  angling  ever  published  in  England. 
Not,  indeed,  the  first  "  practical  "  treatise, 
not  even  the  first  "  contemplative  "  book, 
on  the  subject  of  angling  ;  for  the  honor  of 
the  authorship  of  that  unique  literary  cu- 
280 


Izaak  ll'tilton 


riosity  belongs — here  it,  ye  gallant  knights 
of  the  angle  !  —  to  a  lady  !  This  per- 
sonage was  none  other  than  the  Dame 
Juliana  Bernars,  or  Berners,  the  austere 
Prioress  of  the  nunnery  of  Sopwell,  near 
St.  Albans.  This  doughty  dame  flourished 
more  than  a  century  before  Walton's  time, 
and  from  all  accounts  was  as  celebrated  for 
her  delight  in  all  true  English  sport  as  for 
her  learning  and  piety,  —  a  female  Ad- 
mirable Crichton  in  many  respects.  Of 
this  singular  production,  called,  The  Trea- 
tise of  Fysshing  with  an  Angle,  or,  as  it 
came  to  be  more  popularly  known  after- 


The  Old  Mill  at  Dovedale. 
28l 


Izaak   Walton 


ward,  The  Book  of  St.  Albans,  space  will 
not  permit  more  than  a  brief  extract,  as 
a  taste  of  its  quality,  and  as  a  sample  of 
her  ladyship's  kindly  views  on  the  sub- 
ject of  the  gentle  art.  In  a  chapter  deal- 
ing with  the  many  excellences  of  fishing 
as  compared  with  other  popular  sports  of 
the  time,  our  noble  authoress  saith  :  "  If 
in  fysshing  his  sport  fail  him,  the  angler 
atte  the  leest  hath  his  holsom  walke  and 
is  mery  atte  his  ease,  a  swete  ayre  of  the 
swete  savoure  of  the  meede  floures  that 
maketh  him  hungry  :  he  heareth  the  me- 
lodyous  armony  of  fowles :  he  seeth  the 
young  swannes,  heerons,  duckes,  cotes,  and 
many  other  foules  with  theyr  brodes : 
whych  me  seemeth  better  than  alle  the 
noyse  of  houndys,  the  blasts  of  homes  and 
the  scrytt  of  foules  that  hunters,  fawkeners 
and  fowlers  doe  make.  And  if  the  angler 
take  fysshe,  surely,  thenne,  is  there  noo 
man  merrier  than  he  is  in  his  apytyte." 
How  much  Walton  was  indebted  to  Dame 
Berners's  Treatise,  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but 
from  one  or  two  correspondences  between 
the  two  writers,  it  is  obvious  that  Walton 
must  have  been  familiar  with  the  book. 

A  well-known  work  entitled  The  Expe- 
rienced Angler,  or  Angling  Improved,  written 
by  another  famous  expert,  Colonel  Robert 
282 


ll'alton 


Venables,  has  sometimes  been  referred  to 
as  having  been  "  drawn  upon "  by  Wal- 
ton ;  but  this  could  not  have  been  the 
case,  as  The  Complete  Angler  was  written 
at  least  ten  years  prior  to  the  publication 
of  the  other.  This  erroneous  supposition 
may  have  obtained  because  of  the  fact 
that  a  conjoint  publication  of  The  Complete 
Angler  and  The  Experienced  Angler  was 
issued  under  the  title  of  The  Universal 
Angler,  to  which,  in  a  preface,  the  initials 
"  I.  W."  were  appended.  At  all  events, 
Walton's  book,  with  Cotton's  contribution 
embodied,  had  passed  through  several  edi- 
tions before  the  name  of  Venables  was 
heard  of  as  a  writer  of  authority  on  the 
subject  of  the  Gentle  Art. 

Up  to  the  time,  therefore,  of  the  publi- 
cation of  The  Complete  Angler,  there  was 
really  no  work  in  existence  to  serve  as  a 
vade-mecum  for  those  whose  favorite  sport 
was  "to  take  fysshe,"  and  for  whom  "the 
blastes  of  homes  and  the  scrytt  of  foules  " 
were  but  — 

"  As  sounds  that  sting  the  tender  sense 

With  their  discordant  revel, 
That  bid  no  pain  or  passion  hence, 
But  only  raise  the  devil." 

There  is  no  wonder  that  the  book  was  so 
quickly  resorted  to  on  its  publication.  As 

283 


Izaak  U  'alton 


originally  issued  in  1653,  Tfie  Complete 
Angler  was  wholly  the  work  of  Izaak 
Walton,  while  the  next  three  editions 
of  it,  which  were  published  respectively 
in  1655,  I66i,  and  1668  (so  rapidly  did 
it  find  favor)  received  additional  chapters 
from  the  same  pen.  "  Auceps,"  one  of  the 
brotherhood  of  the  Conference,  was  not 
in  the  first,  but  was  admitted  to  the  sec- 
ond edition.  To  the  fifth  edition  (1676) 
a  second  part  was  added,  the  writer  of 
which  was  Walton's  adopted  son  and 
brother  angler,  Charles  Cotton,  whose 
personal  worth  to  Walton,  on  his  own  tes- 
timony at  least,  has  been  referred  to. 
Cotton's  addition  to  The  Complete  Angler 
added  very  considerably  to  the  value  of 
the  work,  especially  because  in  its  "  In- 
structions how  to  Angle  for  a  Trout  or 
Grayling  in  a  Clear  Stream,"  much  prac- 
tical tuition  in  the  art  of  fly-fishing  is 
given  to  the  reader.  Walton  himself,  it 
is  said,  had  but  little  proficiency  in  that 
branch  of  the  art.  As  an  imitation  of  his 
"most  worthy  father  and  friend's"  literary 
accomplishment,  Cotton's  contribution  left 
nothing  to  be  desired ;  and  so  the  two 
friends  became  closely  linked  together  in 
a  renown  that  will  last  while  rivers  run. 
How  suggestive  of  this  is  the  simple  me- 
284 


Izaak   Walton 


Charles  Cotton,  Walton's  Adopted  Son 


Izaak  Walton 


morial  of  their  friendship,  in  the  quaint 
interlocking,  lover-like,  of  the  initials  of 
their  names  !  Their  book  was  now  "com- 
plete "  in  the  most  literal  sense;  and  no 
further  changes  were  made  upon  it  by 
either  Walton  or  Cotton,  the  former  being 
then  in  his  eighty-third  year.  Few  Eng- 
lish classics  have  passed  through  so  many 
editions  as  The  Complete  Angler.  Appealing, 
as  it  does,  to  but  a  limited  class  of  people, 
the  book  has  had  a  most  unique  success 
since  the  first  edition  was  published  by  Mr. 
Marriott  nearly  two  hundred  and  fifty 
years  ago,  rivalling,  in  a  way,  the  Faerie 
Queene  and  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  in  the 
departments  of  poesy  and  the  higher  life. 
Not  a  year  passes  now  but  there  are  at 
least  several  fresh  editions  or  facsimiles 
of  it  given  to  the  world ;  and,  as  I  write, 
I  hear  of  other  editions  in  preparation. 
"The  cry  is,  'Still  they  come!'"  thus  tes- 
tifying to  the  popularity  of  a  work  as  pure 
and  good  in  style  and  manner  as  ever  any- 
thing written  by  an  English  author,  and  an 
author,  moreover,  whose  ordinary  occu- 
pation had  been  concerned  with  bales  and 
invoices  and  the  distracting  et  ceteras  of 
commercial  life  in  the  heart  of  London  ! 

Izaak  Walton's  title   to   an    honorable 
seat  among  the  immortals  of  English  lit- 
287 


Izaak  Walton 


erature  was  long  ago  recognized  as  clear 
and  undisputable.  Lord  Byron,  it  is  true, 
sought  in  his  own  cavalier  fashion  to  oust 
the  kindly  old  man  from  this  dignity,  and 
viciously  wrote  of  him  that  — 

"The  quaint,  old,  cruel  coxcomb,  in  his  gullet 
Should  have  a  hook  and  a  small  trout  to  pull  it!" 

Even  the  redoubtable  "great  Cham"  took 
the  pains  to  grunt  a  dissent  to  the  claims 
of  "  the  gentle  art,"  as  being  adapted  for 
only  "  simple  "  -  i.  e.,  stupid  —  folks. 
Dr.  Johnson's  bark  was,  however,  often 
more  to  be  feared  than  his  bite ;  and  one 
edition  at  least  of  The  Complete  Angler  — 
that  published  in  1750 --was  due  to  his 
sympathy  with  the  book. 

But  what  have  the  Byrons  and  John- 
sons  et  hoc  genus  omne  to  do  in  an  apprecia- 
tion of  this  kind  ?  Both  were  inherently 
deficient  in  more  than  one  important 
quality  necessary  to  make  a  true  angler ; 
and  so  they  discredited  a  pastime  for 
which  the  one  man  had  no  patience,  and 
the  other  not  over-much  of  that  true 
Waltonian  gentleness  that  ever  shrinks 
from  the  jostle  of  Fleet  Street.  Unques- 
tionably, "  Old  Izaak,"  as  his  followers 
delight  to  call  him,  has  won  the  regard 
and  reverence  of  many  generations  of  an- 
288 


Izaak  Walton 


Cotton's  Fishing  Cottage,  Beresford  Dale, 

glers  throughout  the  world,  not  so  much 
because  of  the  literary  merit  of  his  book, 
though  that  is  great,  as  because  of  the 
influence  of  that  rare,  restful,  humanizing 
spirit  which  so  largely  pervades  it.  It  is 
for  this  that  The  Complete  Angler  occupies, 
and  will  in  all  likelihood  continue  to  do 
so  for  many  and  many  a  day  to  come,  a 
unique  place  among  the  best  of  our  Eng- 
lish literature.  One  of  Walton's  earliest 
biographers  (Dr.  Zouch)  wrote  of  it : 
"  In  this  volume  of  The  Complete  Angler, 
which  will  always  be  read  with  avidity 
-.289 


Izaak  IValton 

even  by  those  who  entertain  no  strong  rel- 
ish for  the  art  which  it  professes  to  teach, 
we  discover  a  copious  vein  of  innocent 
pleasantry  and  good  humour.  The  dia- 
logue is  diversified  with  all  the  charac- 
teristic beauties  of  colloquial  composition. 
The  songs  and  little  poems  which  are  oc- 
casionally inserted  will  abundantly  gratify 
the  reader  who  has  a  taste  for  the  charm 
of  pastoral  poetry.  Above  all,  those  lovely 
lessons  of 
religious 
and  moral 
instruction 
which  are 
so  repeat- 
edly in- 
culcated 
through- 
out the 

whole 
work,  will 
ever  re- 
commend 
this  ex- 
quisitely 
pleasing 
perform- 
ance." To 

all       lOVerS  Foe-simile  of  the  Plate-page  of  the  First  Edition. 

290 


BeingaDifcourfe  of 

FISH  and  FISHING, 

Not  unworthy  the  perafal  of  rooft  Jnglen. 

Simon  feinfaU,  Jgoofcftung:  a»4tl<yfiJ-  M  - 
olfo  «ti  g9  wi/i  tbte.   John  21.  j- 

Letidon,  Printed  by  T,  Maxty  for  RICK.  HARRIOT,  in 
Chutck -yard  Flertftreet  1«5*. 


Izaak  Walton 


of  angling,  at  any  rate,  it  will  never  cease 
to  be  a  classic,  or  to  body  forth  the  de- 
lightfully unalloyed  personality  of  the 
writer.  Of  course  few  learners  have  con- 
sulted the  book  for  practical  guidance. 
Compared  with  a  really  modern  handbook 
of  angling,  like  Stewart's  or  Pennell's,  or 
that  of  Francis,  The  Complete  Angler  is, 
perhaps,  to  the  followers  of  that  art  what, 
say,  the  Book  of  Tobit  might  be,  in  these 
days,  to  evangelical  "  fishers  of  men  "  of 
the  school  of  Wesley  or  of  Spurgeon.  "A 
quaint  and  curious  volume,"  in  all  truth, 
to  be  read  rather  at  the  fireside  than  on 
the  road  to  Loch-Leven  or  to  the  Tay. 
Just  imagine  a  New  Brunswick  angler 
harking  away  over  the  hills  to  the  Resti- 
gouche,  expecting,  by  the  help  of  its  lore, 
to  tackle  and  extract  from  that  prime  river 
a  beauty  of  thirty  pounds !  Few  anglers 
with  these  ambitions  filling  their  breasts 
would  ever  dream  of  consulting  that  ven- 
erable volume,  with  all  its  kindliness,  to 
know  how  to  fulfil  them. 

The  quaint  dialogue  form  of  The  Com- 
plete Angler,  by  means  of  which  the  stu- 
dent is  admitted  to  the  secrets  of  that  art, 
was,  perhaps,  the  best  that  Walton  could 
have  chosen  for  the  exposition  of  his 
theme.  But,  to  present-day  readers  at  all 

291 


Izaak   Walton 


events,  the  Conferences  between  "  Pisca- 
tor,"  "  Venator,"  "  Auceps,"  and  the  in- 
teresting countryfolk  they  encounter,  are 
at  times  just  a  trifle  prolonged  and  tedious, 
and  rather  over-weighted  with  philosoph- 
ic and  sentimental  saws.  Moreover,  they 
oftentimes  lack  that  spirit  or  "go"  which 
so  distinguishes  that  capital  companion- 
work  to  The  Complete  Angler,  viz.,  the 
Nodes  Ambrosiana  of  Christopher  North, 
our  Scottish  Walton,  one  of  the  keenest 
and  most  daring  anglers  that  ever  "  footed 
it  "  over  mead  or  heather,  and  as  ardent 
a  lover  of  mountain  air  and  the  glorious 
license  thereof  as  ever  breathed.* 

Yet  there  is  a  quality  in  Walton's  writ- 
ing that  overcomes  all  drawbacks ;  a  qual- 
ity to  which  surely  no  better  testimony 
could  be  offered  than  that  of  Washington 
Irving  in  the  Sketch-Book :  "  For  my  part 
I  was  always  a  bungler  at  all  kinds  of 
sport  that  required  either  patience  or 
adroitness,  and  had  not  angled  above  half 
an  hour  before  I  had  completely  '  satisfied 
the  sentiment/  and  convinced  myself  of 
the  truth  of  Izaak  Walton's  opinion,  that 
'  angling  is  something  like  poetry —  a  man 


*  An  illustrated  article  on  "Christopher  North,  the  Scottish 
Walton,"  by  Mr.  Cargill,  was  published  in  the  Pall  Mall  Maga- 
zine for  November,  1895. 

292 


Izaak   U  'alt <ii 


Beresford  Dale 


Izaak  Walton 


must  be  born  to  it.'  I  hooked  myself  in- 
stead of  the  fish  ;  tangled  my  line  in  every 
tree ;  lost  my  bait ;  broke  my  rod ;  until  I 
gave  up  the  attempt  in  despair,  and  passed 
the  day  under  trees  reading  Old  Izaak ; 
satisfied  that  it  was  his  fascinating  vein 
of  honest  simplicity  and  rural  feeling  that 
had  bewitched  me,  and  not  the  passion  for 
angling.  .  .  .  But,  above  all,  I  recollect 
the  *  good,  honest,  wholesome,  hungry ' 
repast  which  we  made  under  a  beech-tree, 
just  by  a  spring  of  pure,  sweet  water  that 
stole  out  of  the  side  of  a  hill;  and  how, 
when  it  was  over,  one  of  the  party  read 
old  Izaak  Walton's  scene  with  the  Milk- 
maid, while  I  lay  on  the  grass  and  built 
castles  in  a  bright  pile  of  clouds  until  I 
fell  asleep." 

As  the  more  lasting  value  of  Walton's 
literary  achievements  belongs  to  The  Com- 
plete Angler,  so,  in  all  probability,  will  the 
great  mass  of  his  admirers  prefer  to  asso- 
ciate his  angling  exploits  with  the  Dove 
rather  than  with  the  Lea,  or  with  any 
other  stream  which  he  has  made  classic. 
Yet  it  is  both  true  and  strange  that  in  his 
own  part  of  the  pastoral  he  refers  but 
twice  to  the  Dove,  and  that  quite  inciden- 
tally. The  reason  for  this  is  apparently 
(first),  that  the  locale  of  the  pastoral  was 
295 


Izaak  Walton 

away  in  another  part  of  England,  and  (sec- 
ondly), that  up  to  the  time  of  the  actual 
writing  of  The  Complete  Angler,  Walton's 
familiarity  with  the  famous  Derbyshire 
stream  was  but  little  to  what  it  became 
on  the  commencement  of  the  friendship 
between  himself  and  Charles  Cotton.  It 
was  reserved  for  Cotton,  the  writer  of 
the  second  part  of  the  book,  to  introduce 
the  unrivalled  beauties  of  the  Dove  to  the 
notice  of  the  reader,  and  for  him  to  whet 
the  appetites  of  generations  of  anglers  for 
a  taste  of  its  pleasures. 

Cotton  was  born  in  1630,  and  was  thus 
just  forty-three  years  the  junior  of  Walton. 
His  father  was  a  man  of  estate  and  un- 
common mental  accomplishments.  His 
mother  belonged  to  a  well-known  Derby- 
shire family,  which  included  among  its 
possessions  the  estates  of  Beresford  and 
Euson  in  that  county,  the  former  being  in 
close  proximity  to  the  quaint  old  town 
of  Ashbourne  (Dr.  Johnson,  it  is  said,  wrote 
his  Rasselas  here),  and  near  to  the  river 
Dove.  Young  Cotton  was  sent  to  Cam- 
bridge about  the  usual  age,  where,  we  are 
told,  "  he  did  not  betake  himself  to  any 
lucrative  profession,"  and,  on  returning 
home,  "  addicted  himself  to  the  lighter 
kind  of  study,  and  the  improvement  of  a 
296 


Izaak  Walton 


Reynard's  Cave,  Dovedale. 


talent  in  poetry,  of  which  he  found  him- 
self possessed/' 

To  a  youth  thus  precariously  equipped 
in  the  matter  of  profession,  and  with  a 
love  for  the  Muse,  it  might  readily  be  im- 
agined how  strong  were  the  allurements 
of  such  a  romantic  stream  as  the  Dove, 
with  its  manifold  and  varied  windings  and 
picturesque  pauses,  that  added  such  a  charm 
to  the  family  acres.  Here,  surely,  was 
ample  enough  inducement  to  encourage 
his  "  talent/'  Whatever  his  actual  accom- 
plishment in  that  line  up  to  the  time  of 
his  twenty-sixth  year,  viz.,  in  1656,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  in  that 


297 


Izaak  Walton 


year  he  believed  himself  to  be  fully  able 
to  maintain  a  wife ;  for  he  then  married, 
albeit  "  he  had  neither  patrimony  nor  vis- 
ible means  of  subsisting. "  The  lady  he 
espoused  was  Isabella,  daughter  of  Sir 
Thomas  Hutchison,  of  Owthorpe,  in  the 
county  of  Nottingham.  The  death  of  his 
father,  which  occurred  about  two  years 
afterward,  put  him  in  possession  of  the 
family  estate.  From  this  time  forth  Cot- 
ton appears  to  have  followed  a  literary  vein, 
the  product  being  chiefly  pamphlets,  trans- 
lations, poems  on  sundry  topics,  and  last, 
though  by  no  means  least,  his  famous  con- 
tribution to  The  Complete  Angler.  But  for 
this  last-named  accomplishment,  the  other 
writings  of  Cotton  must  have  been  long  ago 
forgotten,  except,  haply,  by  the  antiqua- 
rian or  relic-hunter.  A  sample  of  his  skill 
in  verse-making  (lines  addressed  to  Aphra 
Benn,  the  dramatist)  is  here  given  :  — 

"  Some  hands  write  some  things  well,  are  elsewhere  lame, 
But  on  all  themes  your  powers  are  the  same: 
Of  buskin  and  of  sock  you  know  the  pace 
And  tread  in  both  with  equal  skill  and  grace. 
But  when  you  write  of  love,  Astraea,  then 
Love  dips  his  arrow  where  you  wet  your  pen. 
Such  charming  lines  did  never  paper  grace, 
Soft  as  your  sex,  and  smooth  as  beauty's  face." 

This    is    surely    quite   in    the   style   of 
writers  of  the  time  of  Charles  the  Second. 

298 


Izaak  Walton 

When  and  how  Cotton  and  Walton  first 
became  acquainted  is  only  a  matter  for 
conjecture,  but  it  was  most  likely  after  the 
publication  of  the  first  edition  of  The 
Complete  Angler.  The  fame  of  that  book 
had,  we  may  be  sure,  spread  quickly 
to  Derbyshire ;  and  the  Beresford  family 
would  be  among  its  first  readers  and 
warmest  admirers.  Perhaps  the  author 
himself  was  already  known  to  the  elder 
Cotton,  who  was  then  still  living  ;  or  per- 
haps an  invitation  to  partake  of  the  Beres- 
ford hospitalities  —  including,  of  course,  a 
trial  of  skill  on  the  Dove  —  had  already 
been  proffered  and  accepted.  Be  that  as 
it  may,  Walton's  peregrinations  to  and 
from  this  unrivalled  angling  resort  contin- 
ued at  least  up  till  his  eighty-third  year. 
Admitted  to  the  full  liberty  and  privacy 
of  that  superb  stream  (a  fishing-house  was 
built  on  its  banks  expressly  to  commemo- 
rate the  friendship  of  the  brother  anglers), 
as  it  coursed  its  way  through  the  exten- 
sive Beresford  demesnes,  we  can  well  im- 
agine Walton's  thankfulness  and  delight. 
Here,  mile  on  mile  he  might  wander,  tak- 
ing as  he  goes  on  — 

"  Here  and  there  a  lusty  trout, 
And  here  and  there  a  grayling," 

his  eyes  every  now  and  again  lighting  upon 
299 


Izaak   Walton 


ome  new  bit  of  scenery,  such  as  have 
made  the  Peak  and  its  surroundings  so 
famous.  At  "  Pike  Pool/'  for  instance,  a 
favorite  haunt,  we  can  fancy  how  young 
Cotton  would  venture  (a  day  in  April)  to 
give  Master  Walton  a  wrinkle  or  two  in 
the  art  of  fly-fishing,  which  the  latter 
would  receive  with  all  meekness  and  grat- 
itude. While  the  old  master  himself 
would,  in  turn,  expatiate  with  gentle  but 
insisting  garrulity  on  the  all-important 
theme  "  How  to  angle  for  a  trout  or  gray- 
ling in  a  clear  stream."  But  an  imagi- 
nary following  in  the  wake  of  the  two 
worthies  of  the  rod  and  reel  would  require 
an  entire  idle  midsummer  day. 

The  high  praise  that  is  the  due  of  The 
Complete  Angler  cannot  be  extended  to  Wal- 
ton's other  writings ;  though  his  Lives  of 
Dr.  Donne,  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  Richard 
Hooker,  George  Herbert,  and  Bishop  San- 
derson are,  as  might  be  expected  from 
this  generous-minded  man,  models  of  their 
kind  in  point  of  tenderness  of  regard  and 
intensity  of  admiration  for  their  respective 
subjects.  It  is  only  fair  to  say,  however, 
that  this  biographical  undertaking  was  in 
no  way  the  deliberate  design  of  Izaak 
Walton,  but  was  thrust  upon  him  by  a 
3oo 


Izaak  Walton 


mere  accident,  which,  according  to  Major, 
happened  thus :  — 

"  Walton  became  an  author  by  chance. 
Sir  Henry  Wotton  had  undertaken  to  write 
the  life  of  Dr.  Donne,  and  had  requested 
Walton  to  assist  him  in  collecting  mate- 
rials for  that  purpose  ;  but  Sir  Henry  dying 
before  it  was  completed,  Walton  under- 
took it  himself." 

Indeed,  it  appears,  according  to  the 
authority  of  Izaak  Walton  himself,  that 
Wotton  also  may  have  been  connected 
with  the  suggestion  of  The  Complete  Angler. 
"  Sir  Henry  Wotton,  a  dear  lover  of  this 
Art,  has  told  me  that  his  intentions  were 
to  write  a  Discourse  of  the  Art,  and  in 
praise  of  angling.  And  doubtless  he  had 
done  so,  if  death  had  not  prevented  him ; 
the  remembrance  of  which  hath  often 
made  me  sorry  :  for  if  he  had  lived  to  do 
it,  then  the  unlearned  Angler  had  seen 
some  better  Treatise  of  his  Art,  — a  Trea- 
tise that  might  have  proved  worthy  his 
perusal,  which,  though  some  have  under- 
taken, I  could  never  yet  see  in  English." 
Such  is  the  modest  confession  of  our 
author  as  contained  in  his  dedication  of 
The  Complete  Angler,  "To  the  Right 
Worshipful  John  Offley,  Esq.,  of  Madely 

301 


Izaak   Walton 


Manor,    in   the    County  of   Stafford,   My 
Most  Honoured  Friend." 

The  claims  on  the  regard  of  posterity  of 
such  men  as  Dr.  Donne,  Richard  Hooker, 
and  George  Herbert  will,  no  doubt,  al- 
ways be  held  in  remembrance  ;  but  with 
respect  to  men  like  Sir  Henry  Wotton 
or  Bishop  Sanderson,  however  highly  es- 
teemed these  were  by  their  contempora- 
ries, even  Walton's  pleading  can  do  no 
more  than  make  us  admit  all  that  has  been 
placed  on  record,  both  as  to  their  learn- 
ing and  personal  worthiness.  With  Dr. 
Donne,  and  when  that  divine  was  Dean 
of  Saint  Paul's,  Walton  was  on  terms  of 
close  friendship ;  and  it  was  possibly  on 
that  account  that  Sir  Henry  Wotton  be- 
queathed to  Walton  the  unaccomplished 
task  of  writing  his  life.  Besides  having 
been  a  prolific  sermon-writer  (many  of 
whose  "  discourses,"  it  may  be  supposed, 
were  heard  by  Walton  when  resident  in 
London),  Dr.  Donne  was  the  author  of  a 
Discourse  on  Suicide,  a  volume  of  verse 
distinguished  more  for  the  author's  piety 
and  erudition  than  for  poetical  force  and 
originality,  etc.  His  merits  were  such  as 
to  have  called  forth  the  high  encomiums 
of  George  Herbert,  between  whom  and 
Dr.  Donne  a  long-abiding  friendship  ex- 
302 


U'alton 


isted.  But  with  all  his  accomplishments 
and  opportunities,  Donne  nevertheless  con- 
tracted an  unhappy  marriage,  which  broke 
his  spirit,  and  brought  his  career  all  too 
soon  to  an  end  ;  for  he  was  only  fifty-eight 
when  he  died,  when  Walton  was  in  his 
London  heyday. 

The  name  of  George  Herbert  needs  no 
recall  to  all  lovers  of  true  religious  poetry. 
The  possibility  of  an  association  of  the 
writer  of 

"  Sweet  Day,  so  cool,  so  calm,  so  bright, 
The  bridal  of  the  earth  and  sky !  " 

with  the  devout  and  contemplative  author 
of  The  Complete  Angler,  is  strikingly  sug- 
gestive. And  yet,  in  his  introduction  to 
his  Life  of  Herbert,  Walton  admits  that 
he  never  knew  that  "  saintly  writer  "  per- 
sonally, and  indeed  "  only  saw  him  once/' 
For  his  being  included  in  this  remark- 
able biographical  quintette  of  English  wor- 
thies, Richard  Hooker,  the  author  of  the 
Laws  of  'Ecclesiastical  Polity,  is  indebted 
entirely  to  Walton's  admiration  for  that 
powerful  work,  and  not,  as  in  the  other 
cases,  to  any  regard  for,  or  personal  friend- 
ship with,  the  subject  of  the  Life. 
Hooker  died  in  the  year  1 600,  when  only 
in  his  forty-seventh  year,  and  when  Wal- 
ton was  but  a  boy  of  seven. 
303 


Izaak  Jt  ralton 


Taking  these  Lives  together,  they  form 
a  worthy  monument  of  Walton's  untiring 
industry  and  patient  diligence,  even  in  a 
department  of  mental  activity  to  which 
he  was  but  accidentally  introduced.  The 
picture  of  the  hale  old  man,  with  the  more 
active  period  of  his  life  left  far  behind  him, 
yet  still  finding  a  zest  for  existence  in  the 
undertaking  of  these  literary  engagements, 
is  most  interesting.  In  addition  to  these 
writings,  brief  mention  must  be  made  of 
Walton's  ventures  in  versification  (for  they 
were  little  more,  and  were  chiefly  dedica- 
tory "lines"  or  epistles).  His  stanzas  on 
the  death  of  Dr.  Donne  are  perhaps  the 
best  example  of  his  skill  in  this  depart- 
ment, though  they  were  written  when  in 
the  full  vigor  of  his  days,  as  were  also  his 
"  Verses  to  the  author  of  the  Synagogue, 
printed  along  with  Herbert's  Temple,  Verses 
in  prefacing  the  poems  of  (i)  Alexander 
Browne  (1646);  of  (2)  Shirley  (1646); 
and  (3)  of  Cartwright  (1651).  His  last 
effort  was  a  prefatory  poem  in  praise  of  the 
author  of  Thealma  and  Clearclues,  a  pas- 
toral history  in  smooth  and  easy  verse  by 
John  Chalkhill,  Esq."  Even  as  the  pro- 
duction of  a  person  of  almost  nonagenarian 
age,  it  is  a  very  creditable  performance : 
coming  from  the  pen  of  good  old  Izaak, 
304 


Izaak  Walton 

it  is,  of  course,  most  worthy  of  regard. 
One  needs  to  follow  his  career  but  a  little 
farther,  and  note  —  in  his  Last  Will  and 
Testament — that  he  has  at  length  (Aug. 
9,  1683)  arrived  at  his  ninetieth  milestone 
on  life's  highway,  fast  nearing  his  jour- 
ney's end,  but  still  blest  with  "  perfect 
memory,  for  which  God  be  praised."  A 
few  months  later  his  steps  falter  and  fail 
altogether. 

His  death  took  place  at  Winchester,  on 
the  1 5th  day  of  December  in  the  same 
year,  while  he  was  staying  with  Dr.  Haw- 
kins, prebendary  of  the  Cathedral,  within 
the  precincts  of  which  his  remains  were 
buried.  The  following  is  the  inscription, 
on  a  large  black  flat  marble  stone,  to  his 
memory  :  — 

HERE   RESTETH   THE    BODY  OF 

MR.  ISAAC   WALTON 

WHO   DYED   THE    I5TH   OF    DECEMBER 
1683. 

ALAS!    HE'S  GONE  BEFORE 
GONE  TO  RETURN  NO  MORE 
OUR  PANTING  BREASTS  ASPIRE 
AFTER  THEIR  AGED  SIRE, 
WHOSE  WELL-SPENT  LIFE  DID  LAST 
FULL  NINETY  YEARS  AND  PAST 
BUT  NOW  HE  HATH  BEGUN 
THAT  WHICH  WILL  NE'ER  BE  DONE 
CROWNED  WITH  ETERNAL  BLISS 
WE  WISH  OUR  SOULS  WITH  HIS. 

VOTIS   MODESTIS    SIC   FLERUNT   LIBERI ! 


305 


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